Rising Sun Ghost Files
by theLeingod
Summary: A cautionary tale of what happens when you accept offers to play roleplaying games set in fictional universes with strange people over internet forums. Namely, you get sucked into said universe by a random omnipotent being for said being's amusement! Contains elements of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, but isn't actually a crossover: no knowledge of that series necessary.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

It was a normal day, at first. I was on my computer, on a forum I spent a fair bit of my time on, looking to see if any interesting new stories or quests had been posted. As I looked, I noticed someone had started a chat with me, saying _Feel like Going on an Adventure?_ The username wasn't one I was familiar with. "ROB."

Well, it was a little weird for someone I'd never talked with to send me that message, but I was also rather curious as to what they were talking about. "What do you mean an adventure?" I typed.

ROB replied almost instantly. They must be a pretty fast typist. _Are you familiar with Yu Yu Hakusho? It had something of a following in its day._

I was, actually, though it'd been years since I'd seen it, so my memories of it were hazy. I had only watched the anime, though, not read the manga, and I hadn't watched past the Dark Tournament. I told ROB as much.

 _That's fine. You don't really need to be that familiar with the setting for this game, although it will certainly make things easier for you._

"So you want me to play in a quest set in Yu Yu Hakusho or something?"

 _Essentially, yes. The set-up goes like this: you create a character, choose from some powers and traits what you want, and then I drop you in that world. What you do from there is up from you. Are you interested?_

Alright, that seemed pretty straightforward. I answered in the affirmative, and started asking about how the quest was going to be played.

 _I'll explain that part after character creation._ Okay, guess my new GM was playing this close to the vest. ROB posted the character creation rules and options. I was pretty impressed. Point-buy system, **lots** of different backgrounds, powers, perks and drawbacks. I also got some freebies, like the ability to actually see spiritual phenomena and the like, enough knowledge of the Japanese language, culture and history to fit in, etc. I noticed a lot of the powers were ripped straight from other series' and asked how that was going to work.

 _Basically, if you choose one of those options, you'll get powers with effects very similar to your choice, but re-flavored to fit the setting. Also, some of them will be strengthened or weakened to keep things competitive, though all of them can become more powerful through training, even to the point of becoming something else entirely. And just a tip: if you pick a strong power, or one with many different applications, you'll still have to train in order to use most of it. Can't have you start out_ _ **too**_ _powerful, after all. Though depending on what options you choose, you can be powerful enough that you wouldn't have to train at all until the Four Saint Beasts Arc, and you wouldn't have to put serious effort into it until the Dark Tournament._

Sounded good to me. I also got to customize my age, appearance, and all that fun stuff. In the end, this was the character I made:

 **Name:** Tenchi Higashikata (東方 天地), a name taken from two fictional characters: Tenchi from Tenchi Muyo and Josuke Higashikata from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. I could have gone with something that contracted to "JoJo," but then I realized the jokes would probably never end.

 **Age:** 14 (8th year Jr. high school student), which was the maximum age I could have for the background I'd picked.

 **Appearance:** Johnny Joestar. Well, let me qualify that: a 14-year old Johnny Joestar who isn't dressed in American flags, and with a haircut that isn't ridiculous. That is, worn long and flat without those weird horn-things. If anyone thought my appearance was weird, I figured I could just claim my mother was half-American or something. And really, Kurama's hair was bright red and Botan's was baby blue; blond hair and blue eyes kind of lose the shock factor stacked up against that.

 **Background:** The Mysterious Transfer Student. What this one meant was that my character would, for all intents and purposes, be me, dropped straight into the Yu Yu Hakusho verse, with no additional memories, family, or friends other than those I made during the adventure. I'd be a new transfer student into Sarayashiki Jr. High School, and I'd have all the necessary papers to prove my identity: birth certificates, elementary school graduation certificates, social security number, etc. That paperwork would say that I was an orphan with no surviving relatives, and an emancipated minor on top of that. I'd have a house with paperwork saying it was left to be by a deceased relative, as well as a modest stipend from the same relative until I graduated high school to pay for stuff like food, utilities and school supplies. Also, people would feel naturally disinclined to bring up how odd all this was or question me about it: so long as I didn't deliberately call attention to it, nobody would realize how unusual my background was. Part of the reason I chose this background is because it was free.

 **Properly Japanese:** All the knowledge, language and culture I'd need to fit in. I supposed this was just so ROB could sidestep questions about that during play by just assuming I did the right thing for stuff like knowing cultural references and eating with chopsticks or whatever. This was free.

 **Perception:** The ability to perceive and interact with the supernatural. The first level was free, but I bought it more than once. My spiritual awareness would only be beaten out by the likes of Kuwabara and his sister.

 **Enhanced Physique:** This was an enhancement to general physical attributes. It gave my character more strength, toughness, speed, etc. With this, my character would always be at least slightly above-average in all physical aspects when compared to others at his level of power. I could have chosen to boost one attribute more at the cost of others, but I like "jack of all trades" characters.

 **Enhanced Mentality:** This was like Enhanced Physique, but for mental attributes instead. With this I'd have an easier time learning, remembering what I'd learned, being creative, and especially in thinking quickly on my feet. I bought this perk twice. It wouldn't make the character a second Kurama, but it'd give him a keen tactical mind. It also meant I was practically assured good grades if I tried even a little.

 **Determination:** This would increase my character's strength of will and his resilience, both physical and mental. He'd have the strength to never give up, and the willpower to get right back up no matter how many times he was knocked down. Basically it meant he'd be a shounen protagonist, which I figured would be very useful in a shounen series.

 **Spirit Energy:** I got the choice to get either this or Demon Energy for free, or paying a big chunk of my points for both. In the end I figured I'd rather stay human and picked Spirit Energy. Purchasing just this would mean I'd only be able to enhance my strength and durability and fire a Spirit Gun once per day, though I'd be able to work out more creative uses over time. Luckily for me this wasn't the only power I was able to buy.

 **Hamon:** Also known as Sendo, or more popularly, the Ripple. I'd be able to use all the Ripple tricks used in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, plus more besides, but at first I'd only know the basics: Ripple-infused strikes, accelerating my own healing rate, and infusing objects with Ripple to strengthen them (or people, to heal them). Since it's a martial art, it'd increase my hand-to-hand skill drastically as well. Though unfortunately it didn't insta-kill demons the way it did vampires in the series; it would only be as effective as any other form of Spirit Energy, though that also meant it'd work just as well on humans. Most importantly, though, was that I had spent extra points so that I could use the same technique Will A. Zeppeli used to unlock Jonathan's potential with the Ripple to unlock latent spiritual awareness and basic Ripple breathing, and could then train others in my techniques.

 **Prediction:** The ability to be Joseph Joestar by accurately predicting what someone's about to say before they say it. As a side effect (or rather, a required secondary effect), my character would also be better at reading people and predicting what they were thinking, what they'd do, etc. Very useful in combat, no doubt.

 **Iron Lungs:** My character's lung capacity became twice that of a mountain dweller's and his respiratory system became twice as durable as the rest of me: attacks that would have formerly crushed his trachea would only bruise it instead. Buying Hamon got me this at a discount, and the synergy made it a must-buy.

 **Dirty Fighting:** My character would have a working knowledge of all the dirty little tricks you could use to take a guy out of the fight, and the willingness to use them. Nerve clusters, soft spots, the right way to attack the eyes or ears, etc. It also made him a bit more tactical in his fighting style, especially where using the environment was concerned.

 **Sacred Potential:** This gave my character the potential to use something called Sacred Energy in the future. The description was pretty vague, but it said this was actually in canon (wish I'd watched the whole series), and for some reason buying Hamon got me this at a discount, so I thought, 'Why not?' It sounded cool, at least.

 **Combat Prodigy:** This increased my rate of growth tremendously, enough that I'd be able to keep from falling behind the main characters so long as I didn't slack off on training. It also made it much easier for me to learn new techniques through self-study and in some cases would allow me to figure out new powers mid-fight. The bulk of my points went into this and Sacred Potential. It seemed like a worthwhile investment to me.

 **Temper, Temper:** This was a drawback I picked up for some extra points. I'd be more short-tempered and combative, more eager to fight and less diplomatic. I could still think tactically, and it wouldn't make me any dumber, but I'd be a lot easier to rile up and pick a fight with. I figured, "Nobody ever solved problems in this series by talking to each other, so what am I really losing out on?"

 **Hey, No Spoilers:** This was another drawback. This one meant that I couldn't willingly reveal my origins to anyone, or give away any knowledge of the future I had unless I had some other way of explaining my knowledge away. Since Hamon came with a kind of future-seeing ability I figured I could just use that if I needed a handy alibi, it seemed like free points to me.

 **You Needed Worthy Opponents:** The third and last drawback I took. This one would add a few extra challenges and opponents that weren't in canon or buff up a few of the already present threats to account for my participation. It was basically free points for something I wanted anyway: I didn't feel like spending half the quest stealing other peoples' kills.

After finishing up my character sheet, I asked ROB once again how the quest was going to work.

 _It's actually quite simple. You'll take on the role of your character, and adventure in the world of Yu Yu Hakusho with the powers and background you've chosen. It'll be a hard journey, but don't worry: it won't be forever. If you can survive for five whole years, I'll let you come back anytime you want, at the same age and in the same moment as you were when you left, if you still want to. In fact, I'll even let you keep all the powers you collect along the way; what you'll do with them once you get back might be just as fun as this adventure promises to be. And who knows? Maybe some of the friends you make will even want to come with you._

I blinked. "What the hell?" I asked aloud. Was I talking to someone who seriously thought that…?

I didn't manage to finish the thought. My body started feeling heavy, my vision blurred and my thoughts slowed to a crawl. As my consciousness faded, all I could see were stars and blackness, and I felt, rather than heard, the words ' _Enjoy your new life.'_

* * *

I jolted awake in my bed, breathing hard but steadily. _Did I have a nightmare again?_ I wondered. I sat up in my bed, trying to remember through my just-woke-up daze. I couldn't help but feel as though something important had happened…

 _If you want to jog your memory, maybe you should look around you instead of staring off into space._ It was a… I couldn't really call it a voice, per se. I didn't hear it, but rather I felt it. It was like the words were etching themselves into my soul to make themselves known, and then faded away.

Too curious and weirded out to question it, I looked around and realized that this wasn't my room, or even my house. It was a small, sparsely decorated room, with only the most functional objects breaking up the monotonous white walls and hardwood floors. There was a floor-length mirror, though, in one corner of the room. When I caught eyes with my reflection, I remembered everything.

A stranger was looking at me in the mirror. More specifically, a blond-haired, blue-eyed teenage stranger. That quest! ROB! It had actually…

I leapt out of bed so quickly my blanket went flying across the room as I crossed the small bedroom in one quick stride and took hold of the mirror in both hands thrust my face into it, searching the reflection for… I didn't even know what. Some kind of trick? Something that would let me dismiss the whole thing as a hoax?

Whatever it was, I didn't find it, and as I took my hands off the mirror to grasp and pat down my own body, what I saw was only doubly confirmed: this was me now. This was what I looked like. It had all been real.

[ROB.] On a forum I had often frequented, it stood for **R** andom **O** mnipotent **B** eing. It was a commonly used plot device in several of the stories and quests I read on there: some bored all-powerful asshole dumping some poor schmuck into a new world: sometimes one they were familiar with through fiction, sometimes with neat powers. I suppose I was lucky that mine was "kind" enough to equip me with both.

Finally, I tore my eyes away from the mirror, from my changed appearance. "Where are you?" I whispered, my voice and body both shaking violently. In rage? Disbelief? Fear? Probably all of the above. "Where the fuck are you, you bastard!?"

 _I suppose you won't like the answer 'everywhere and nowhere,' will you?_ That same presence in my soul replied.

I was about to give voice to exactly how much I didn't like that answer, but found I couldn't. I literally choked on the words, and fell to the floor in a fit of gagging and retching.

 _My apologies, but this particular 'phase' of the adventure has always been utterly tiresome to me, so I've long fallen into the habit of cutting it off quickly._ As I slowly recovered from my sudden choking attack, the "voice" continued.

 _Yes, I took you to the universe of Yu Yu Hakusho. Yes, everything's exactly as it was in the character sheet you filled out, yes there's a very real chance that you'll die, no I don't care about the myriad of problems you have with this and no you're not the first being I've done this to. Not the first human, either. I'll let you have your emotional breakdown and/or tantrum in peace after this, since I know you humans need such things to remain somewhat healthy, but do be quick about either moving on or suppressing it, would you? It's dreadfully boring to watch. I've dropped you in on a Saturday and you start at school on Monday, so you've got all of today and tomorrow before you need to head to school and start your adventure proper._

 _And in case you feel like asking: yes, you can simply stay at home doing nothing while Yusuke and his compatriots go on their adventures, but I don't recommend it. Because I can and will alter things so that the worst possible outcomes occur. Do you remember how many of their early victories were decided by luck? Imagine how easy it would be for a being of my power to make sure their luck ran out. And that's not factoring in the extra challenges and opponents that_ _ **you**_ _signed off on. They'll appear either way, and if you choose not to intervene in events a great deal of deaths will occur that you could have prevented. Gohki alone might devour dozens of innocent children's souls if you don't step in to help._

 _I'll be watching you, of course, but this is the last time I'll talk to you until your journey is over. Make sure to be entertaining._

 _Farewell, and have a fun five years._

The presence and its "voice" both left me. The words had burned into my memory; I'd remember them with crystal clarity. I slumped to the floor on hands and knees, a few tears beginning to run down my face, fueled by frustration, rage, loss – so many feelings I probably wouldn't be able to put a name to them all.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

I was… well, not thankful to that _bastard_ obviously, but the weekend I had to vent my feelings really helped. I moped, I cried a little, I raged, I cursed whatever force had brought me here and I'd grieved that I might never see my friends and family again.

By the time Monday morning came, I was in a fit state to dress myself (though for some reason, my school uniform was white instead of the light blue I'm sure I remember the Sarayashiki uniform being. Guess I needed to look the part as the mysterious transfer student or something) and get to my new school about 30 minutes before the first bell. Life wasn't going to wait for me to make peace with what had happened, and if I was going to have any hope of getting back home, I'd need to put all of that out of my mind for now. Compartmentalizing like that wasn't exactly healthy, but it was necessary.

As I waited outside the principal's office to meet with him, I noticed his secretary giving me sympathetic looks. I wasn't sure whether it was because I wasn't entirely successful in hiding the mildly depressed state I'd settled into, or whether she'd read the sob story that was my background in this world. Either way, I hoped it wasn't a sign of things to come.

As I was called into the principal's office, I could tell already my hopes weren't going to be realized. He was an older man, stout, with slicked-back brown hair that hadn't started to go gray yet and very heavy features, which went well with the solemn look he was giving me. The nameplate on his desk told me his name was Jirou Takenaka. All I remembered from the show was that he rode Yusuke's ass to try to get him to stop skipping school and chewed out those two asshole teachers who were talking smack at Yusuke's wake.

We exchanged greetings, and I declined a seat, preferring to stand in front of his desk. "Tenchi, I understand that you've been through a great deal recently. I won't pretend that I understand what you're going through. But I want you to know that, should you ever need help, or someone to talk to, my door is always open, and counseling can be made available to you at any time," he said gently, concern obvious in his voice.

"Thank you, Mr. Takenaka. I'll keep that in mind," I answered politely. That he cared was nice; it was certainly a good thing for his students, but didn't really help me. I certainly couldn't tell him anything about what had happened.

He might have sensed that I didn't intend to take him up on his offer, as he frowned slightly. He didn't try to press me further on the subject, though, instead moving on to the folder he had open on his desk; probably "my" files.

"Now, it says here in your file that your academic performance so far has been quite good. I hope that you will continue to do so, but please keep in mind that no one will blame you if your grades slip a little bit at first, and that if it starts to become a problem, you have options like tutoring to turn to," he began. I nodded my head in acknowledgement.

"I have noticed, however, that you were disciplined several times in the past for getting into fights with other boys," he continued, fixing his gaze on me. Huh; I guess the "Temper, Temper" flaw I'd bought was retroactive, just like my mental enhancements. "I'm sure you understand that this school tries to discourage that kind of thing."

I tried not to look amused at that; I really did. I must not have been entirely successful, though, judging by his sigh. "I see you've already heard that this school has, unfortunately, taken on something of a reputation," he said. "It is true that a few of our more difficult students have achieved a certain level of infamy in this area. I hope you have no plans to do the same, Mr. Higashikata." He raised his eyebrow a bit at the end.

"Uh, no, Mr. Takenaka, I don't. It's not that I start fights or anything, they just kind of… find me," I finished lamely.

He leaned back with a sigh, but didn't press me on the subject. Maybe he was willing to wait and see if I'd be another Yusuke or Kuwabara. Or maybe he was just jaded and didn't think anything he said would have an effect either way. He gave me my class schedule and we talked about my classes and the like for the next few minutes. About 10 minutes before the first bell, the secretary rang him over the phone, telling him that "Ms. Yukimura" was here to see him, and he told her to send her in.

Keiko Yukimura, Yusuke's childhood friend and (once he stopped being a dumbass and just admitted it) girlfriend stepped into the room. "Good morning, Mr. Takenaka," she said with a bow. "Is this the new student?"

"Good morning, Keiko," Takenaka replied. "And yes, this is Tenchi Higashikata. He'll be in the same class as you from now on, and I'm hoping that, as the class representative, you'll be willing to show him around for the first few days."

"Of course," she replied. Turning to me, she gave me a bow as well. "My name's Keiko Yukimura; it's nice to meet you, Tenchi."

. "Uh, nice to meet you, too, Keiko. I'm in your care," I replied, with a slightly awkward bow of my own. Japanese culture was much too big on artificial politeness for my tastes. But, well, when in Rome and all that. Luckily I'd be hanging out with a bunch of delinquents and demons a lot of the time, so it probably wouldn't be too much of a problem.

"There are a few things I'd like to speak with Keiko about privately, Tenchi, so would you mind stepping out for a few moments?" Takenaka asked. It was probably something to do with Yusuke, considering he'd come back from the dead and all. Probably either asking if Keiko knew what the hell was up with that, or just making sure he was actually going to come to class.

"Of course, sir," I answered.

"Excellent. I'm glad we had this talk. Welcome to Sarayashiki Junior High," he said, and we shook hands before I walked out the door.

* * *

School… was as much of a pain as I remembered it. Keiko was nice at least, if a bit prim by my standards, though we'd only talked for about ten minutes so far. As I cursed ROB to the blackest pits of hell for making me relive this and tuning out the teacher, I also went over what I remembered of the series. It wasn't much; I hadn't seen the series since I'd _actually_ been 14.

Let's see… Yusuke dies, comes back, and becomes a Spirit Detective, a position which is grievously misnamed since he never does a single bit of detective work and just goes around punching demons in the face. His first case was… right, the one where Hiei, Kurama and some ogre or whatever that nobody gives a crap about stealing some important artifacts from Spirit World. Pretty sure that ogre guy kicks Yusuke's ass sometime today, actually. What was the artifact that guy had? The Orb of… something or other. And it did…

Oh. Oh shit. _Gohki_. That was his name; ROB had mentioned it in his stupid spiel. And the orb he had stolen let him suck out the souls of children so he could _eat_ them!

It took everything I had not to leap up from my desk and go running after the bastard right then and there, but I managed to restrain myself. I had no idea where the fucker was, and my spiritual senses weren't nearly good enough yet to pinpoint some low-class demon I'd never met and who, for all I knew, could be clear on the other side of town.

As best as I could remember, the souls Gohki ate took time to… digest. Factor that, how recently he'd taken the orb, and the fact that the three thieves were on the run and had to lay low at least a little bit meant he'd probably only just started taking souls with the orb, which meant I could afford to wait and follow Yusuke. Pretty sure Yusuke managed to save everyone, and it took him a day longer than it was going to take me once I'd gotten the bastard's scent.

With that in mind, I had my plan of action. Now I just had to wait for Yusuke to get word of it. Now, how and when did that happen? It was…

"Something _troubling_ you, Higashikata?" the teacher asked archly. He must have noticed I wasn't paying attention.

I managed to keep myself from jolting in my seat, instead turning my gaze to him. "No, Mr. Iwamoto," I answered.

"Good. Then I'm sure you won't mind stepping up to the board and answering these problems," he said.

Keiko raised her hand. "Mr. Iwamoto, Mr. Takenaka said that-"

Iwamoto cut her off. "I'm well aware of what Mr. Takenaka told me, Yukimura. But this is _my_ classroom and I will teach it _my_ way. Now, Higashikata, come up to the board and answer the questions. The world isn't going to wait for you to get over yourself and stop crying about what's already happened, and neither will I." He had the most disgusting smirk on his face as he said that, the prick.

Not that I had any problem with someone _not_ walking on eggshells around me – I've always found that sort of thing more annoying than anything – but this guy obviously just wanted to twist the knife. And I'd remembered as soon as I'd laid eyes on him that he was one of the pair of pricks who gave Yusuke and Kuwabara a hard time. Not that they didn't _deserve_ teachers chewing them out, given their grades, conduct, attitudes, and just about everything else, but some of what these guys had done was both immoral _and_ illegal (stealing from students, altering their grades, blackmailing them, the list goes on). My guess is that he was probably one of those sadists who gets a job that gives them power over other people just so they can get off on being petty assholes with it. Or maybe he's just delusional enough to believe that he's somehow acting like a good teacher? It's hard to say.

Keiko looked scandalized, and it took everything I had to _just_ glare daggers at the smug fucker in front of the class.

I _wanted_ to punch him so hard in that smug face that his _mother's_ jaw would break, but I settled for walking over and putting my enhanced brain to good use showing the jackass up by solving the (fairly complicated for junior high, even in Japan) questions flawlessly. Math had always been my worst subject; it was nice to be getting _something_ good out of this whole mess.

"Very… good work, Higashikata," Iwamoto said through clenched teeth as he glared at me. In return I gave him the biggest shit-eating grin I could. "Now, take your seat." He didn't call on me again for the rest of class.

* * *

It took until after P.E. class for something to happen. It had never been my favorite (though I'd always been pretty middle of the road physically, and I had never been terribly out of shape or anything. I'd just never liked working up a sweat very much; exercise was something I had to do to stay healthy, not something I _wanted_ to do), but with my newly enhanced physical acuity I'd apparently broken a few school records. That, plus my new looks and intelligence, meant I was getting a _lot_ of attention, both from guys trying to recruit me for sports teams or clubs and girls who decided I was the new school heartthrob. Which would have been _great_ had I been 14 mentally instead of just physically. As it was, it was just a nuisance.

When we got back to class, I spared a glance at Yusuke, who was just coming in from wherever he'd gone when he ditched P.E. class. Since I was seated to his right, I'd greeted him during homeroom, but got nothing but a bored "Hey" back. He hadn't seemed interested in continued communication, so I'd left it at that and did my best to keep from glancing at him too often; didn't want him getting the wrong idea.

Around me, I could hear the sounds of kids frantically digging through their bags, and exclamations of "It's gone!" and "Where is it?" throughout the class.

"My golden dragon pen is missing!" one of the kids cried out. "That was an heirloom from my grandpa; it's one of a kind! My family'll _kill_ me if I lose it!"

"Someone took my charm bracelet, too!" said another.

"My Gameboy! Where's my Gameboy!?" yelled a third.

Almost in unison, the kids started staring at Yusuke, accusation clear in their eyes. "What? Have I got something on my face?" Yusuke asked, only half serious. He didn't seem to know what was going on, but he knew what it looked like when people were accusing him.

"Someone must have come into this class during P.E. and taken our stuff," one of the kids said. It was obvious who "someone" was, in their minds at least.

"Yeah, and you skipped class, Urameshi," another helpfully supplied.

"Yeah, well what the hell of it?" Yusuke said defensively. "I got better things to do with my time than lift stuff off of you losers."

"Is that so, Urameshi?" Iwamoto answered as he came through the door. "Well, I think you're lying. I think you stole those items, which makes you a thieving rat on top of being a worthless punk. And I _also_ think that you and I are going to have a nice little chat with the principal about this." Once again, he had that smirk on his face that made him look like the most punchable man alive. I remembered who stole the items now.

I couldn't keep quiet. "And do you plan on chatting with Mr. Takenaka about your willingness to accuse someone of something based on completely circumstantial evidence and your own prejudice, Mr. Iwamoto?"

"What did you say, Higashikata?" Iwamoto said. That smirk was gone now. Good.

"Too complicated for you, Iwamoto? Here, let me spell it out for you: _I_ think you're a judgmental prick who's willing to put the blame on someone for something you can't prove he did just because you don't like him," I said, leaning back in my seat with my arms crossed.

Wow, he was actually _shaking_ with rage at that. Must be pretty thin-skinned, or maybe I'd found a button and slammed it. Also, did I seriously just say that out loud? I'd never been a model student or anything, but I'm pretty sure it used to take more than this to get me to mouth off at a teacher. Oh, right; "Temper, Temper." Not sure it was worth the points…

Once he took a moment to calm down, he narrowed his eyes at me. "Well, it seems you'd like to accompany your new friend to speak to the principal with me, Higashikata. You and your partner in crime can both present your case."

Yusuke and I shared a look, before standing up to walk to the principal's office. He didn't look afraid at all, just kind of pissed off and defensive. I'd been there: it always sucked to be accused of things you didn't do.

"Hey," Yusuke said in a low voice, too low for Iwamoto to hear us while he marched us up to Takenaka. "Why'd you stick up for me like that?" He sounded a bit suspicious, and confused as well.

I gave a shrug. "Do I really need a reason? No matter how much of a punk you are, there needs to better proof than 'he could have done it' to just decide that you're guilty and drag you up to the principal like a criminal." I gave a sly smirk. "Besides, I really wanted to wipe that smug look off his face."

Yusuke gave a smirk of his own. "Yeah, I'll admit, it's always fun to see someone tell him how fulla shit he is. Maybe we'll get lucky and get to do it again."

* * *

Mr. Takenaka, thankfully, wasn't willing to take Iwamoto's accusations at face value. "So you say these two collaborated to steal items from students, Mr. Iwamoto? And what proof do you have of that?"

"Well, Mr. Takenaka, we've got both motive and means. This little punk," he said as he pointed to Yusuke," skipped out on P.E. class, which is when the items were stolen. Obviously he came back to classroom and simply pocketed the items."

Takenaka looked unimpressed at this deduction. "I see. And what, pray tell, is your logic for claiming Tenchi, a new student whom he's never met, was his accomplice?"

"Simple, sir," Iwamoto said, the smug look on his face telling me he didn't realize just how little the principal was buying into his bullshit. "When I made clear my suspicions, he immediately began trying to deflect suspicions and rile me up with juvenile insults in order to distract me from my investigation. Even if he's _not_ in on it, the fact remains that his behavior towards a teacher, i.e. _me_ , was unacceptable and inexcusable."

"Do you actually hear yourself talk, or is your head so full of bullshit that it clogs up your ears?" I asked loudly. That got a chuckle out of Yusuke, and another glare from Iwamoto. Mr. Takenaka frowned at my choice of words, but didn't say anything.

As Iwamoto went into a blistering, if repetitive, tirade, what should materialize but a floating toddler dressed in blue? So this was Koenma, _de facto_ ruler of the Spirit World. Somehow, he was even less impressive in person than I'd thought he'd be.

"Yusuke, it's an emergency! The case of your life has just come up, you've got to hurry! Three demons have stolen three of the most dangerous artifacts in Spirit World!" Huh, so Koenma couldn't stop time the way he did in the show. Made sense, I guess; otherwise he should have just done it anytime Yusuke got in a fight to give him free hits.

Luckily for Yusuke, everyone's attention (except mine, but I pretended otherwise) was on Iwamoto, so he didn't look crazy when he started talking back to the floating toddler that nobody else (again, except me) could see, making sure to keep his voice low. "Look, Koenma, now's not the time. Some jackass stole some stuff and _this_ jackass thinks it was me."

" _You_ don't have time!? Yusuke, lives are in the balance here! _I'm_ the one who doesn't have time for your teenage drama!" Koenma said.

"Well, that's too damn bad!" Yusuke hissed under his breath. "Unless you want me to knock out everyone here and run out of the school at top speed, it's gonna have to wait!"

"Oh, fine, here!" Koenma said, pulling out a monocle lens and shoving it in front of Yusuke's eye. "Take a look at his right pocket; he's got the items in there! Now hurry up so you can do your job as Spirit Detective and detect some spirits!"

That must be one of the Spirit Detective's Tools that never got used again after the Four Saint Beasts arc. Specifically, the spyglass that let you see through things. Bet the kid got more mileage out of that one than anything else; did nobody question the decision to give a hormonal 14-year old delinquent boy an X-ray lens? Yusuke looked where he was bid, his eyes widening in momentary shock before narrowing in anger. Reaching into Iwamoto's pocket over his protests, Yusuke pulled out a pen with a golden dragon entwined around it.

"Well, lookee here," Yusuke said, anger clear in his voice. "Wasn't one of those guys whining about his _one of a kind_ golden dragon pen going missing?"

"Why, I do believe he was, Yusuke," I answered with a shit-eating grin.

Takenaka was clearly starting to connect the dots, if the enraged look on his face was any indication. "Iwamoto, explain this!"

Iwamoto was starting to sweat, and fumbled for an excuse. "Well, obviously this punk slipped it into my pocket when he-"

I cut him off by reaching into his pocket myself and pulling it inside out, causing several items to spill out: a Gameboy Color, a charm bracelet, watches, keychains, and several other small effects and accessories. "So you're saying he snuck all of this in your pocket in the span of about 2 seconds, Iwamoto?" I asked.

As Takenaka started tearing Iwamoto a new asshole, I looked around to see Yusuke had already cut and run. Making my own escape, I saw him taking a corner and followed after him. With any luck, he should lead me right to Gohki. Assuming I didn't lose him.

* * *

"I can't believe I lost him," I muttered under my breath. Somewhere in the seedier part of downtown, I'd lost track of Yusuke. Luckily by that point we were close enough that, by concentrating on my spiritual senses, I was eventually able to sense them. When I'd detected them, all three thieves and Yusuke were in the same general location; the four of them combined had enough energy that I could sense them a ways off, and I'd made my way towards them when I'd felt two powers, obviously Hiei and Kurama, begin to leave.

As I came to the clearing, I saw I'd made it just in time. Yusuke was getting smacked around like a ragdoll while Gohki laughed his head off. There was a sooty circle in his chest where Yusuke must have used his Spirit Gun, which hadn't done more than singe the skin.

Gohki had Yusuke on the ground now, and was kicking him in the stomach. I stopped just short of the clearing. I didn't know how powerful I actually was; was I strong enough to actually hurt Gohki, or beat him in a fight? Maybe I could do what Botan did, and try to scare him off by pretending a bunch of people were coming?

The decision was taken out of my hands, though. As Gohki moved to bring down his trunk-like leg down on Yusuke's skull, I reacted without thinking.

"Spirit Gun!"

Unlike Yusuke's, my Spirit Gun did more than singe the skin. The small, bullet-like projectile lanced right through the ogre's thigh, taking all the strength from his leg and causing him to fall to his good leg right in front of Yusuke, roaring in pain and clutching his wound.

"Playtime's over, big guy," I said, looking and sounding much more confident than I felt as I stepped into the clearing.

Once his roars of pain subsided, Gohki worked himself to his feet (limping, of course) and snarled at me. "Another human?! You're going to pay for that, you little shit!"

I gave a cocky smirk, more for my own sake than anything else. "Sorry, kind of short on cash right now. Do you accept IOUs? I'm good for it, honest."

Yusuke was still conscious, but barely. "N… new guy?" he mumbled.

Gohki and I walked up to each other and stared each other down. Me, maybe about five and a half feet tall tops, fairly muscled for my age but still pretty slim, and him, probably eight or nine feet of pure, muscular ugly. He looked like your typical ogre-like monster: reddish skin, ripped up pants, jutting tusk-like lower teeth, horns sticking out of his forehead, the works. And of course he smelled awful.

"You talk big for such a runt," Gohki growled. "That technique you used… The other punk only used it once, even though it was the only attack he had that could hurt me. I'll bet you're the same; I'll bet you can't do it again!"

"Yep; one and done," I answered happily. Not much point bluffing here; I'd learned what I needed to. I was strong enough. I could hurt him… probably.

Gohki's face contorted into a cruel smirk. "Then that means you're going to suffer even worse than him. I'm going to rip your arms off and peel the skin from your flesh. I'll-"

I cut him off with a mighty blow to the gut, charged with my spirit energy. Using the Spirit Gun took quite a bit out of me, but what I had left was more than enough to bring the giant to his knees, gasping and wheezing as he clutches his gut with his arms.

"Feeling a little short of breath there, Gohki? That's good news for me; you've clearly never heard of breath mints," I taunted. Still coughing and sputtering, he nonetheless managed to force himself up to try to grab me. I instead grabbed his arms just above his elbows, intending to force them up and away from him to leave his abdomen open for a good kick.

Turns out, he was at least as strong as I was, so it was more of a struggle than I'd anticipated. Unable to easily force him down or back, I got a different idea. Readjusting my grip on his arms, I instead lifted my legs off of the ground and swung one back, kicking him square in his chin. This time he landed flat on his back, struggling to get himself back on his feet.

"Looks like you can't take the hits so well when you're picking on someone who can _really_ hit back, Gohki," I taunted him once more. "I guess spending all your time attacking little kids and untrained teenagers doesn't really prepare you for actual _fights_ , huh?"

"Fuck you, you damn human punk!" I yelled out, just a split second before Gohki yelled the same thing. His eyes widened in shock as I continued. "Looks like low-class demon thugs are just like low-class human thugs: dumb as dirt, utterly predictable, and _all talk_."

He proved that assessment correct by roaring and throwing a flurry of punches at me, but the wound to his leg slowed him down, and he wasn't the fastest guy around to begin with. I dodged each and every one of his blows, only moving just enough for his punches to miss me by inches. As his attacks grew more frantic and desperate, I resolved to end this.

As he tried to land a haymaker, I struck my arm out to brush it aside, putting him off-balance. Then, I flattened my other hand as if to throw a karate chop, but instead rammed it fingers-first into one of his eyes, blinding it.

Gohki screamed in pain, clutching his eye, as I gathered energy into both of my fists.

"I've had my fun; playtime's over. I'm about to give you a taste of the pain you've enjoyed giving to others, you soul-sucking son of a bitch!" I yelled, and let loose with a barrage of energy-infused punches to his face and torso. And hey, while I was at it…

"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!" I yelled, punctuating each blow with an "ORA!"

The blows came heavy and fast; Gohki never had a moment to counter or defend himself from the the time I was done, Gohki's front resembled nothing so much as a hunk of discolored hamburger meat with arms and legs. He fell to the ground, and this time he didn't get up. The faint groaning and twitching proved he was still alive, though. Have to hand it to the guy, he's pretty tenacious. I was, admittedly, just a little bit glad I hadn't killed him; I'd never taken another sapient life before, though I'd probably need to before this was all over. He definitely deserved whatever Spirit World decided was just punishment for his crimes, though; he'd probably be executed, come to think of it. Well, not my problem. I'm not going to lose sleep over some asshole who feeds on little kids' souls getting executed.

With him taken care of, I checked on Yusuke, still on the ground. He was in pretty bad shape; I knew some first aid, and from what I could tell he had several fractured ribs, his right arm was _very_ broken, and he had some _nasty_ bruises where Gohki had hit him. Nothing life-threatening, but it would take a while to heal, and hurt like hell while it did.

Time to see if I could do something about that. Channeling almost all my remaining energy into my hands, I laid them upon Yusuke's chest and willed it to flow into him. I wasn't sure it would work, but it sort of… _felt_ like it would, somehow.

Luckily for both me and Yusuke, my instincts were correct. Yusuke's breathing, previously short and ragged, began to even out as bruises yellowed and started to fade. Bones made loud popping and cracking noises as they began to repair and reconnect themselves. When it was over, many of his bruises had faded, and his ribs would be fine (if pretty tender for a while). The arm was still kind of messed up, though, and would require another healing session later. Not bad for a first attempt, if I do say so myself.

I was internally celebrating my discovery of Ripple Healing, until I heard frantic footsteps coming my way. Turning around, I saw a very pretty blue-haired girl hefting a baseball bat. This couldn't be anyone but Botan, Yusuke's trusty sidekick/minder. The spirit guide's eyes went from Yusuke, still looking visibly beat up, to me, standing over him, to Gohki, pounded into lunch meat and twitching on the ground.

"Good afternoon, miss!" I chirped, waving my hand. "Lovely day for a walk in the woods, isn't it?"

Botan stared at me like I'd grown a second head. Obviously she was still trying to process what was going on right now.

With a slight grunt of effort, I picked Yusuke up in my arms. "I managed to heal most of Yusuke's wounds, but we should probably get him somewhere safe to finish recovering; the other two thieves know we're here. Do you know where his house is?"

Dumbfounded, Botan nodded.

"Great. You pick up the orb, and… do whatever with this guy," I said, jerking my head in Gohki's direction. "He's not going anywhere for a while. I'll follow you to his house, okay?"

Shaking her head clear, Botan quickly went for the orb and pocketed it. "How did… who are you?" she asked.

I flashed her a dazzling smile. "My name's Tenchi Higashikata, 14 years old, new student at Sarayashiki Junior High!" I said.

Botan continued to stare at me, obviously not satisfied by my answer. "That… doesn't really answer my question," she said flatly.

"Look, we can talk more when we aren't in the thieves' meeting place and the Spirit Detective here isn't unconscious, okay?"

"Alright, fine," Botan said with a sigh. Good, looks like she's decided to trust that I'm on her side for now. That would give me enough time to figure out what exactly I'm going to tell them, considering I'm literally incapable of telling them the real story.

Grinning triumphantly, I started to head off to Yusuke's house.

"Wrong direction," Botan said in an amused tone.

I spun around on my heel, a slight blush forming on my face. "Uh… I knew that."


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

 _Yusuke watched the two souls he'd punched out of Gohki fly back to their owners, then turned back to look at the floored demon. This had actually been a lot easier than he'd thought it would be._

" _No offense Gohki, but that was pretty pathetic," Yusuke said. "I know I'm badass and all, but going down in two hits? That's just disappointing."_

 _Yusuke's taunts were cut off by the demon chuckling where he was lying on the ground. "Is that so? Well, I hate to disappoint your expectations. Here, let me make it up to you," he said, picking himself up off the ground, looking far too confident for someone who'd just been laid flat on his ass._

 _Gohki's muscles began to bulge and expand, tearing through his shirt and pants as his skin grew darker, while his nails grew into thick, short claws. His teeth grew long and pointed, with short tusks jutting out from his lower jaw and several horns growing from his forehead: one large one in the center of his forehead, two of similar size at his temples, and another, smaller pair just above each of his eyes._

" _Aw, crap," Yusuke muttered, taken aback by the already tall man's transformation into a nine-foot dark red ogre._

" _Hehehe, what's the matter, runt? Don't feel like talking tough anymore?" Gohki asked mockingly. "Come on, make a move! Or maybe you want me to make one for you?" Not waiting for an answer, Gohki swiped at Yusuke with his clawed hand. The Spirit Detective only barely managed to jump away, his jacket getting slashed in the process. Gohki's hand kept going until it hit a small tree, which he gripped in a meaty fist, crushing the trunk into splinters._

" _You gotta be fucking kidding me!" Yusuke yelled. If that blow had hit him, he wouldn't have fared any better than that tree._

" _Yeah, that's right, human. You're starting to realize the difference between you and me. That's good," Gohki said. "Fear and pain are the best seasonings for a soul. Now that I've put the fear in you, I can start sprinkling in the pain!"_

 _The soul-eating demon charged Yusuke, drawing back a mighty fist and throwing a rock-shattering punch at Yusuke's chest. The instincts he had honed in dozens of street fights served him well, and Yusuke managed to jump back to lessen the blow's impact. But even with that, and with his spirit energy unconsciously reinforcing his body, he could feel his ribs fracturing from the force of the blow. Yusuke dropped to his knees, a hand to his ribs as he let out short, shaky breaths, gasping in pain._

" _Oh, I'm sorry; did I put too much force into that punch? I always forget just how frail you humans can be," Gohki mocked. "Don't let me hit you too hard, now! I'd hate to bruise the meat!"_

 _Gritting his teeth, Yusuke put his hand into a "gun" shape, pointing his index finger at Gohki's chest. 'This "Spirit Gun" thing better actually work or I'm gonna kill that fucking toddler,' he thought. Gathering his spirit energy into his outstretched index finger, he condensed it into pure energy and fired it as a bullet-like projectile, hitting Gohki square in the chest._

" _Ahh!" Gohki yelled, taking a step back as the energy bullet struck him. The skin where it struck was singed a darker color than the surrounding skin, and a bit of smoke came from it, but otherwise the soul-eating demon seemed unharmed._

" _Oh… fuck…" Yusuke breathed. The only weapon left in his arsenal, and it hadn't so much as broken the skin._

 _Gohki charged Yusuke again, this time grabbing the arm he'd fired the Spirit Gun with and lifting him up to eye level. "You little punk!" he growled. "You're going to pay for that!"_

 _With that, Gohki began to squeeze Yusuke's arm. The spirit detective screamed in pain as his bone was crushed beneath Gouki's massive hand. That done, he let go, and Yusuke fell to the floor, sobbing and cradling his ruined arm._

 _Not giving him more than a moment to recover, Gohki started literally kicking the fourteen-year old while he was down, knocking him around the forest clearing. Yusuke's cries of pain rang out through the forest._

 _Yusuke was on the ground now, pain searing through his entire body. His eyes swimming from pain and unshed tears, he saw Gohki's massive foot looming over his head. 'It's… over," he thought to himself. 'Shit… and I just… got back…'_

" _Spirit Gun!" yelled a voice, and a projectile much like the one Yusuke had failed to hurt Gohki with punched a hole straight through the monster's trunk-like thigh. Gohki howled in pain and dropped to his knees, gripping his injured leg with his arms._

" _Playtime's over, big guy," the same voice rang out through the clearing again. Yusuke was fading fast, the pain of his injuries overwhelming him, but he couldn't help but feel like he knew that voice._

 _Out of the corner of his eye, Yusuke saw Gohki rise to his feet. "Another human!?" he snarled. "You're going to pay for that, you little shit!"_

" _Sorry, I'm kind of short on cash at the moment. Do you take IOUs? I'm good for it, honest." Yusuke recognized who it was now. That new kid at school! What the hell was he doing here!? And how had he fired a Spirit Gun like that?_

" _N… New guy?..." Yusuke mumbled. He couldn't complete the thought; his vision was fading, and everything went dark._

* * *

Yusuke jolted awake, bolting upright. "What the… isn't this my room?" Yusuke thought aloud, looking around. This was indeed his room, and he was in his bed. Even stranger, he only felt about as bad as he did the few times some punks managed to hit him with a bottle or a bat or something once or twice, even though Gohki had given him the beating of his life. Flexing his previously-broken arm, Yusuke grimaced at the pain, but noticed that it didn't seem broken (well, shattered, really) anymore. "How… was that a dream or something?"

"Yusuke!" his mother called out from the doorway, dropping the towel she'd been holding and running to his bedside and embracing her son. "You're awake!"

"Wha- mom?" Yusuke asked, surprised. "Uh, yeah, I guess-"

Atsuko Urameshi cut off her son by punching him upside the head. "You idiot!" she yelled. "I was worried sick, Yusuke! You wouldn't wake up at all, and your clothes looked like you'd gotten attacked by a wild animal! You're going to… going to get yourself… killed…" Atsuko trailed off, bursting into tears and sinking to her knees at her son's bedside.

"Mom! Come on, mom, it's okay, I feel fine, see? I've been hurt worse tripping over your empty bottles," Yusuke said, trying to reassure his crying mother as she scooped him up into her arms. Ever since he'd won his trial and come back from the dead, his mom had been acting like this a lot: she'd sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and stand at his bedside just to make sure he was still breathing, and if he didn't get up the _second_ she started trying to wake him up in the morning she'd start bawling her eyes out. Part of Yusuke was secretly touched to see how much she cared; the rest of him was just annoyed at all the blubbering and confused about how to handle it.

'Actually, _how_ am I not hurt more than this? I distinctly remember Gohki handing me my ass on a plate,' Yusuke thought, as his mother's sobs started to die down. 'And did the new guy at school seriously come in from out of nowhere and save my bacon?'

"Oh, good, you're awake, Yusuke," came the same voice from the clearing. The new kid, Ha… something, Yusuke hadn't really paid attention when he was introduced yesterday, came into the room, wearing (what Yusuke assumed was) his old school's uniform. He was about Yusuke's height (okay, maybe a little bit taller), with messy blond hair that reached the nape of his neck, bright blue eyes, and a slim build. Standing next to him was a pretty girl with long baby-blue hair tied into a ponytail and purple eyes, wearing jeans and a sweater.

"Hel~lo!" Botan chirped brightly. "Glad to see you're alright, Yusuke. You had us all rather worried!"

"Wh-Botan! Did… the two of you get me out of that clearing?" Yusuke asked, glancing at his mother. The real question on his mind, of course, was "Is the new kid in on this Spirit Detective stuff?" but he couldn't exactly ask that in front of his mom.

Atsuko, having stopped crying, pulled herself out of her son's arms and rubbed at her eyes. "Yeah, they did. Tenchi here brought you back home asleep in his arms, and Botan helped get you through the door and into your bed."

"Oh, that's… great," Yusuke said, now wondering how his mom could see Botan. He was also more than a little creeped out at the thought of being carried around in a guy's arms while unconscious.

Atsuko stood up and headed for the doorway. "I'll make you three some tea and snacks, alright? And Yusuke, introduce me to your friends properly later, okay?" With that, she headed for the kitchen.

"Alright!" Yusuke called after her. "Now I just need to figure out how the hell to do that. What the hell happened while I was out, Botan? How come my mom can see you? And how exactly is the new guy here involved?" Yusuke asked, pointing at said new guy as he did so.

"Well, I told Koenma I'd probably serve better as your assistant if I could talk to you in public without people thinking you were crazy, so now I've got a proper physical body that can be seen by normal humans!" Botan said. "But as for him… I have no idea. He said he'd explain when you were conscious."

"And I will," Tenchi said. "I just hate repeating myself, you see. It's _useless, useless, useless_."

"Alright, well we're all ears, so explain away. Who the hell are you?" Yusuke asked.

"I am who I said I am: Tenchi Higashikata, 14 years old, new student at Sarayashiki Jr. High. It just so happens that I'm _also_ a powerful psychic with training in harnessing my spirit energy through an ancient martial art called Sendo," Tenchi said.

"Wait, psychic? Sendo?" Yusuke asked, already lost.

"Psychic can mean one of two things, actually," Botan explained. "It's a general term for any human who can perceive spiritual phenomena, like your friend Kuwabara, but it can also mean humans whose spiritual abilities manifest in the form of unique powers, like E.S.P. And there are actually a number of martial arts designed by the spiritually aware to harness their spirit energy into greater power. Such people often become demon slayers or exorcists. I guess this 'Sendo' thing is one of them?"

"Right on the money," Tenchi said with a nod. "I don't exactly have any E.S.P., but my training in Sendo has allowed me to hone my spirit energy and become powerful enough to take on minor demons like Gohki."

Yusuke nodded. "Alright, but what were you doing in that clearing in the first place?"

"Simple," Tenchi said, shrugging his shoulders. "Like I said, I'm spiritually aware. I saw and heard that floating toddler that appeared when Iwamoto was trying to frame us. I heard him say that three demons had stolen dangerous artifacts from Spirit World. That's the kind of situation where a demon-slaying martial artist can come in handy, you know? So I followed you, saved you, kicked Gohki's ass, used a Sendo technique to heal you, and then brought you here with Botan's help."

"You followed me? Then why the hell did you wait until my ass was already good and kicked before bothering to step in and help!?" Yusuke yelled.

"Because I kind of… got lost for a bit," Tenchi admitted, rubbing the back of his head and wincing. "I managed to detect your spirit energy, though, along with three sources of demonic energy, and ran towards it, but by the time I got there Gohki was already about to cave your head in."

"Okay, so you're not an asshole, you're just a dumbass with no sense of direction," Yusuke summarized.

Botan nodded energetically. "Bingo! I tried giving him directions, but he still almost took a wrong turn twice on the way here! If I hadn't gone with him he'd never have found this place."

"The hell did you just say!?" Tenchi yelled, pointing a finger at Yusuke. "What kind of a thing is that to say to the guy who saved your ungrateful ass, then healed it, then dragged it all the way back here!?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Yusuke said carelessly, waving his hand at Tenchi, who started silently fuming. He turned back to Botan. "So that's him covered, but what about you, Botan? How'd you find me?"

"Oh, I just used this!" Botan said, whipping out what looked like a compass. "It's the Demon Compass; one of the Seven Spirit Detective Tools. It can detect the location and distance of a demon that's already been identified. I just used it to look for Gohki. I'd meant to give it to you today, but this case came up so suddenly…" She handed it to Yusuke, who looked it over.

"Okay, that's all well and good, but I think my main problem is actually fighting them once I've found them," Yusuke said. "Gohki was a lot stronger than I thought he'd be; I couldn't even hurt the bastard once he transformed."

"Um, I should probably be encouraging you, but…" Botan trailed off, unsure of what to say to salve his wounded pride or put an optimistic face on his failure to beat Gohki.

"But as you are right now, you don't stand much of a chance, and all three of us know it," Tenchi cut in bluntly. No hard feelings there, not at all.

"Yeah, well why don't _you_ handle this, then, Mr. Big Shot!?" Yusuke demanded.

"Because Gohki was the weakest of the three thieves," Tenchi replied. "He was strong and tough, sure, but he was also slow and stupid; nothing but dumb muscle. Guys like that go down like a sack of bricks. The other two are on a different level, and I'm not sure I'd be able to handle them on my own. If I implied otherwise, I'm sorry, but I'm not some hardened demon-slaying badass. I'm still just a rookie."

"And besides that, we have a time limit on getting those items back," Botan interrupted. "I didn't want to tell you this, Yusuke, since it would just be more pressure on you, but we have to get all three back within the week."

"Well we already figured out I'm just the north side of fucking _useless_ , so what the hell am I supposed to do about it!?" Yusuke spat.

"Simple. You need to get stronger," Tenchi said. His bluntness snapped Yusuke out of his growing irritation.

"And how exactly am I going to do that?" Yusuke asked skeptically. "We've only got a week to get those items back!"

"Don't worry, you'll see results very quickly. We can get started on it right now," Tenchi answered. "Stand up and face me, and I'll use a technique that will help you harness your spirit energy."

After a moment's hesitation, Yusuke stood up and faced Tenchi. "Alright, I'm up. Now what? This better not involve me holding some fruity pose or whateve-"

Tenchi cut him off by jabbing a glowing energy-infused finger into his midsection, driving all the air from his lungs. Yusuke doubled over, wheezing and hacking as he temporarily lost the ability to breathe.

"That's it, make sure you expel every last bit of air from your lungs," Tenchi said.

Botan grabbed Tenchi by his shoulder and turned him around to face her. "Just what the heck do you think you're doing to Yusuke!?" she demanded, making sure to keep her voice down to keep Atsuko from becoming suspicious.

Tenchi was unfazed. "I'm helping him," he said coolly.

By this time, Yusuke had managed to start breathing again, and put his hand on Tenchi's other shoulder, drawing back his other arm into a fist, ready to punch his lights out. "Help me how, jackass!? By letting me choke to death and saving those other two demons the trouble!?"

"Yusuke, is your right arm still hurting?" Tenchi asked, still completely calm.

A look of shock crossed Yusuke's face, and he let go of Tenchi in favor of staring at his arm. "No, actually, it feels good as new," he said. He continued to look himself over. "In fact… I feel amazing. Like I'm surging with energy."

"That's because you are," Tenchi said. "The technique I used has changed your breathing pattern. Sendo is a martial art based on breathing."

"Based on breathing? The hell's that mean?" Yusuke asked.

Tenchi turned to face Yusuke and clasped his palms together in front of him, taking a meditative pose while standing. "Energy comes from breath, Yusuke. Spirit energy flows through the bodies of humans, but only spiritually aware humans can perceive it. Only through training or special methods can you exert more than just basic control over it. The breathing technique of Sendo is one of the methods that can be used to control it." As he spoke, he channeled glowing golden-white energy into his hands, demonstrating his point.

"By altering the way you breathe, you alter the way your spirit energy flows. Sendo is also called Hamon, or the Ripple, because when you utilize this technique your spirit energy flows in ripples throughout your body, empowering you and giving you far greater control over your spirit energy than most psychics can achieve even with years of study. A master of Sendo can do almost anything with his spirit energy: they can heal almost any sickness or wound, destroy the most powerful demons with a single blow, or channel their energy into objects to empower them.

"What I've given you is the most basic application of the Ripple's power: the ability to channel the ripples of your own spirit energy through your body to enhance it more efficiently. You'll be stronger, tougher, and faster than you were before. You'll heal more quickly, and once you get the hang of using it and get a feel for the flow of energy, you'll be able to empower your blows with powerful ripples of energy to deal even greater damage when you strike, especially against demons… just so long as you keep up the rhythm of your breath and don't let anything disrupt it. A big part of Sendo training is conditioning to make sure you always keep up the breathing, but we don't really have the time right now."

Yusuke and Botan both had looks of awe on their faces. "So with that one little poke, you gave me the power to do all that, huh?" Yusuke asked.

"Bingo," Tenchi said, unclasping his hands. "Like I said, though, if you wanted to learn anything more, you would need training, but we don't really have time for that. Until we manage to pinpoint the remaining two artifacts, it will have to do."

"Great! We've got the Rapacious Orb safe and sound, Yusuke's got a power-up, and we've made a strong new ally!" Botan summed up, shaking Tenchi's hand. "Glad to have you on the team, Tenchi! Sorry for not trusting you earlier."

Tenchi stepped back a bit, seeming a little embarrassed. "Oh, no, it's fine Botan, I understand completely," he said, avoiding eye contact with the girl. "I mean, I was kind of suspicious."

"Yeah whatever, welcome to the team, yadda yadda. So what's our next move?" Yusuke asked.

"Well, you're fully healed now, but you both need to give your spirit energy time to recover," Botan said. "Tenchi's right; the other two thieves will be a good deal stronger than Gohki, so it's best if we wait until you're in top condition to go after them. Tomorrow after school would be the best time to start; we can try combing the city with the Spirit Compass to try to find them."

"Which brings us to our last piece of business," Tenchi said.

"Yeah? And what's that?" Yusuke asked.

"Explaining why exactly we skipped out on half the day's classes."

"Pft, is that all? Don't worry about it, I ditch all the time."

"Yes, well that's all well and good for you, but I don't really feel like getting in trouble any more than I have to," Tenchi griped.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Yusuke said. "Just come up with something. He may get on my case _all the damn time_ , but Takenaka's not too bad, for a teacher. He'll cut you some slack if you think of a good excuse."

"Alright, I guess that works," Tenchi said. "Of course, a lie is much easier to get away with if it's got elements of the truth. So I'll just say that you ran out, I followed you to try to keep you out of trouble, you picked a fight and got your ass kicked, and I bailed you out and dragged your sorry ass home."

"Wait, _what_!?"


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

The next day at school saw us getting called up to the principal's office so that Takenaka could politely ask us why the hell we had both cut class. In order to get Yusuke to actually support my story I had to edit it a bit so that Yusuke had heard a child screaming and run off, and that the two of us had fought off a kidnapper together. Considering that kids in the area _had_ been falling sick or going missing for hours at a time (Gohki's work) and that a suspicious man _had_ been reported as being seen in the area about the same time (Gohki himself), Takenaka was willing to believe it. He still lectured us and gave us a stern warning not to ditch again, but didn't take any further action against me. Beneath it all, he almost seemed… happy, for some reason. I had been afraid he'd want us to take that story to the police, but according to Botan Koenma was doing… something to make sure that didn't happen. Not sure I wanted to know what it was.

In happier news, Iwamoto was currently under investigation and in serious danger of getting tossed out on his ass. Even if he wasn't, Takenaka assured us he'd be on probation for at least a year. While he was being investigated, we had a substitute teacher. He was decent, though kind of boring. Yusuke, of course, was napping before the guy had even started lecturing, so he didn't even have that excuse to fall back on.

Keiko was still taking it upon herself to be my "guide," even though I'd thought Takenaka only meant her to do that for the first day. I guess she's the type who can't help but feel responsible for people. She seemed surprised when I struck up a conversation with Yusuke about video games, for some reason. Actually, the look on her face was a lot like Iwamoto's.

After school, Yusuke and I met up with Botan to discuss our plans for looking for the other two artifacts. Mostly, that just meant Botan was looking at a map and trying to work out the best pattern to search the city in.

"I think it might be more efficient if we split up into two groups: you and Yusuke search one half of town while I search the other," I suggested. "I sensed their energy signatures in the forest, so I'd be able to pick up on them if they were nearby. And you and Yusuke have the compass, so between the two groups we'd be able to find them both much faster."

"Well, yes, it would go faster, but it would be much too dangerous!" Botan argued. "If we separated like that, we wouldn't be able to contact each other if we met Hiei or Kurama, or worse, if they attacked us. You yourself admitted that you aren't sure you could defeat either of them, and Yusuke still isn't at your level yet! Our best chance is to search together."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Botan," Yusuke grumbled, annoyed at her pointing out that I was still stronger than him. Give it time, kid; you'll be outshining us all soon enough.

"You might have a point," I admitted. "Without a way of contacting each other when we find one of them, we'll just be dividing up our forces. Unless… You have that compass, and the eyeglass that allowed Yusuke to see into Iwamoto's pocket. Is there anything that will let us contact each other?" And there's the bait. Now to see if she takes it…

"Oh! There is, actually!" Botan said, searching her pockets. She pulled out a pair of small handheld mirrors. Bingo. Good thing I remembered the Four Saint Beasts arc fairly well. I really liked that arc…

"Seriously Botan? Is this really the time to be fixing your makeup?" Yusuke said.

Botan smacked Yusuke upside the back of his head. "For your information, Yusuke, these are Communication Mirrors, one of the Seven Spirit Detective Items made specially for _your_ use by Koenma himself. If you have one of the mirrors, you can freely communicate with whoever is holding the other."

"Well alright then, we'll just hand one over to Tenchi and split up. If one of us finds Hiei or Kurama they'll give the other a ring," Yusuke said, rubbing the back of his head.

Botan frowned. "I guess that could work, but it'd still be very dangerous. What if they both ambush one group at once? Or split up to attack both groups so that we can't help each other?"

"I don't think we gotta worry about that," Yusuke said. "When I was listening in on their little meeting in the forest Kurama had a falling out with the other two; said he was leaving the group. So they're probably not gonna work together again anytime soon."

"In that case it's an even better idea to split up. If they've gone their separate ways then not only are they almost assuredly not going to assist each other, they're probably nowhere near each other, either. Unless one attacks the other to get his artifact, but that just makes our job even easier," I said.

"Alright then, we'll split into two groups and each patrol half the city," Botan said, though it was obvious she still had some misgivings.

"Botan, if you're still worried about what might happen if you and Yusuke encounter one of the thieves, I could use the same technique I used on him to alter your breathing and unlock your potential for Hamon. It wouldn't be much, but it might allow you to hold your own and assist him, at least for a little while," I offered.

"Hey! I don't need you and Botan to hold my freaking hand, okay! Gohki took me by surprise, and I'm stronger now than I was then, so piss off!" Yusuke yelled.

Ugh, teenagers. I'd forgotten just how defensive they could be when they felt their competence was questioned in the fields they actually cared about, even when they knew it was accurate. I'd need to handle this delicately, or he'd go flying off half-cocked to try to prove himself. Even if it worked, he'd just be forming bad habits. Why give Genkai the extra work?

"I didn't say that I don't think you can handle it, Yusuke," I said patiently. "At the very least, I think you'd probably be able to hold them off long enough for me to back you up. But what happens if they decide to attack Botan? Or try to take her hostage? Are you really so confident that you can protect her _and_ fight someone even stronger than Gohki?"

Yusuke faltered a bit, then sighed. "Yeah, alright, I get it. Be stupid to pass up something that'll help us out just because I'm still feeling sore about getting bushwhacked, fine," he said.

I turned to Botan. "Honestly though, Botan, I'd prefer if you only stepped in for emergencies; no offense meant, but you don't really strike me as a fighter," I said.

Botan waved her hand at me. "Oh, not offense taken, Tenchi, I know my limits, and a fighter I'm definitely not. But I don't intend to be dead weight _or_ a hostage; I know a thing or two about self defense, I've got easy access to any information Lord Koenma can get on our thieves, and I'm not too bad at healing, either. If you think your technique will help me contribute to this case, then I'm all for it," she said.

I nodded. "Okay. Now, I advise you to sit down so you don't fall over. And don't try to hold your breath: the whole point is to expel it all from your lungs to correct your breathing patterns," I said, as I channeled my energy into my finger.

As Botan moved to comply, Yusuke crossed his arms and clicked his tongue. "Woulda been nice to get that kind of warning when you did it to _me_ …" he grumbled.

"My way was more fun," I replied simply as I drove my finger at a precise point on Botan's midsection, causing her to double over gasping for breath.

When she recovered, she stared at her hands and breathed deeply. "Wow! This feels incredible; my spirit energy feels like it's just welling up inside of me!"

"Just don't start thinking it makes you invincible. Believe me, it doesn't," I warned. "That said, it'll hopefully be enough to keep you from being an easy target."

With that, the three of us parted ways; Yusuke and Botan to check one half of the city, while I looked through the other.

* * *

"Man, this is such a pain in the ass," Yusuke complained, consulting the compass again to find the needle wasn't moving at all. "Botan, what's the range on this stupid thing, anyway?"

"It depends on the strength of the demon you're trying to locate, but with as powerful as Hiei and Kurama are supposed to be, I'd say it's probably about 500 meters," Botan said.

Yusuke sighed, but kept searching. They'd been at this for an hour already, and it had started to become tedious about ten minutes in. If this was what the next few hours were going to be like, Yusuke almost hoped that he got ambushed by both of the thieves at once, just to save him from the boredom.

"So, um, Yusuke, do you mind if we take a break somewhere without people around? Koenma would like a world with you, he says it's important," Botan said.

Yusuke decided that even getting lectured by a thousand year old toddler was a decent diversion from walking around aimlessly hoping to run into a demon, so he assented and the pair walked into a deserted alley.

After checking that nobody was around, Botan pulled out a small case and set it on a steel barrel that had been left out. Opening it revealed a TV screen, which turned on and showed Prince Koenma, _de facto_ head of Spirit World (at least while his father was away) at his desk.

"Good to see you're both alright," Koenma began. "I called you because I have some concerns about the new ally you two have picked up."

"Tenchi? What about him?" Yusuke asked.

"Simply put, his sudden involvement in this case is extremely convenient. And extremely suspicious," Koenma said.

"Suspicious? What do you mean?" Botan asked.

"Look at it this way, you two: a powerful psychic just happens to transfer into Yusuke's school the very same day I give him an extremely important case. He just happens to be around Yusuke when I give him his case, and then he just happens to arrive in the nick of time to save Yusuke's behind. And then after healing Yusuke's wound and giving him a sweet new power-up, he invites himself along to help you. That doesn't seem the least bit off to you?"

"I… it does seem very convenient," Botan said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, well so what?" Yusuke said. "What would he even get out of trying to trick us? I don't know about you, but 'I don't want the place I'm living in to turn into Demon Central' sounds like reason enough to want to help out."

"You'd be surprised, Yusuke. And as for what he'd get out of it… it's possible he wants the Artifacts of Darkness for himself," Koenma said. "I'm not saying there's any proof he's not on the up-and-up, but it's something you should watch out for all the same."

"But if that's what he wants, why is he helping us to get them? We certainly wouldn't just hand them over to him," Botan asked.

"Well, he did claim that he wasn't sure whether or not he could defeat Hiei or Kurama himself, didn't he? Assuming he was telling the truth, it only makes sense for him to help your investigation. It would be much easier for him to take the artifacts back from you and Yusuke than from those two, even with the power he's given you both."

"Well, what the hell would he even do with them if he got them?" Yusuke asked. "There a big market on soul-sucking disco balls I'm not aware of?"

"As a matter of fact, yes there is," Koenma replied. "There are a limitless number of demons with a taste for human souls, and many of them would give anything to be able to feed as easily as they could with the Rapacious Orb. And there are more than a few humans who would just love to get their hands on an item that allowed them to drain the souls from their enemies' bodies. The Rapacious Orb alone would be worth a fortune to the right buyers, and the three artifacts together are priceless. Even if he didn't plan to sell them, the things an unscrupulous person, human or demon, could do if they got their hands on those items… I'm not prepared to risk countless lives by blindly trusting someone we don't know the first thing about."

"So what are we supposed to do? Do you want us to just tell him he can't help with the investigation anymore?" Botan asked.

"No, not at all," Koenma said. "If he _is_ after the artifacts, that'll just let him know that we're onto him, which could just make this whole thing worse. And if he isn't, then we'll be alienating a potentially invaluable ally. I just want you two to keep what I've said in mind and keep a very close eye on Tenchi Higashikata. From now on, you can't leave him alone with the artifacts or turn your back to him, and if you see anything you think is suspicious, you need to tell me immediately. I'll be doing a background check on our new friend in the meantime."

"I don't like it," Yusuke said, crossing his arms. "I get that it's pretty suspicious, but the simple fact is he saved my ass. I don't wanna turn into the kind a guy that's always going 'what's he up to?' every time someone decides to _not_ be a raging prick to me. I've been on the receiving end of that kind of crap way too many times to like it."

Koenma sighed. "I understand that subterfuge doesn't come easily to you, Yusuke, but it's not like I'm asking you to rummage through his trash and ask him where he was at 3 AM last night; I just want you to keep an eye on him to see if he says or does anything that leads you to believe he might be holding his real motives back, that's it. Frankly, I _hope_ I'm wrong about him; I'd love it if he turned out to just be in the right place at the right time, but it's important to cover all our bases in this situation."

"Yeah, I guess you got a point," Yusuke conceded. "But I'm still not happy about it."

"None of us are, Yusuke," Koenma replied. But we've got to do it regardless."

The mood in the alley was grim, as Yusuke and Botan were asked to work with someone that, according to Koenma, they couldn't trust, at least not yet. Neither of them was really cut out for this kind of situation.

Botan was friendly, upbeat and optimistic, and always wanted to believe the best of people (though she certainly didn't think there was no such thing as pure evil; she'd seen too much while guiding the souls of the dead for that); everything in her wanted to trust the boy that had come to Yusuke's rescue and selflessly volunteered to help them recover the Artifacts of Darkness. But she knew Koenma had several good points.

Yusuke himself was certainly a lot more cynical than Botan (despite the fact that Botan had actually seen far more cruelty and suffering than Yusuke probably knew existed), but he had found himself trusting the new student too. He had almost forgotten what it was like knowing people his own age who weren't scared witless of him or willing to immediately jump to the worst conclusions about him just because of his reputation and attitude. He didn't really count Botan (he'd asked her age once, and she'd smacked him on the head with her oar), and Keiko and Kuwabara had long since become fixtures in his life, so he never really compared how they acted to other people.

Tenchi, though, hadn't seemed intimidated or judgmental at all. He'd stuck up for Yusuke against Iwamoto, apparently for no reason other than because he didn't think Yusuke'd done anything wrong, and then fought Gohki to save his life, again for no reason other than because he thought he should. At school, Yusuke had found himself trading quips and meaningless insults and chatting about video games like he sometimes did with Kuwabara after his resurrection (on those occasions where the redhead wasn't challenging Yusuke to another fight and getting his head kicked in).

Now he was being told it might all be a lie, that Tenchi might just be another asshole trying to use him. Yusuke had dealt with people like that before: punks who wanted to piggyback off his reputation and talent for fighting, mostly. If Tenchi really was just another one of them… He found his fist clenching at the thought.

The moment for ruminations was ended when the compass in Yusuke's pocket started beeping, indicating the presence of one of the two remaining thieves. Yusuke pulled out the compass and looked at it, his eyes widening in shock.

"What the!? This thing says he's less than a hundred meters away!" he yelled.

"What!?" Botan and Koenma both cried.

Yusuke sped out the alley and in the direction the compass pointed to. Slamming the case containing the screen shut (ignoring Koenma's shout of protest), Botan quickly followed him.

Back in the busy streets, Yusuke rapidly looked all around him, unable to find the demon in the crowd until the compass said he was only 10 meters away.

Kurama, the one who had cut ties with Hiei and Gohki, walked toward Yusuke, seeming for all the world like just another student walking home from school.

He had bright green eyes, with delicate, almost feminine features and long vibrant red hair worn loose down his back; if Yusuke hadn't heard him speak he might have thought he was a flat-chested girl at first glance. He wore a school uniform, pink with gold trim.

As Kurama approached, Botan caught up to Yusuke, and both stood their ground. Kurama, though, walked right past them, seeming not to even notice them.

' _Don't worry,'_ Kurama said to Yusuke telepathically. _'I have no intention of fighting you, nor do I intend to flee. In fact, I've a favor to ask of you.'_

"What? What do you-" Yusuke asked, but was cut off.

"Three days," Kurama said, turning back to look at the Spirit Detective and his assistant. "The local hospital is five minutes' walk from our current location. In three days, meet me there, and I'll gladly return to you the Forlorn Hope."

"Huh? Wait a sec-"

Kurama didn't stick around to hear what Yusuke had to say, and was quickly swallowed up by the crowd. Yusuke and Botan attempted to find him, but had no luck; he'd hidden his tracks too well. At Botan's behest they continued their search, hoping to find Hiei's hiding place. They would wait until later, when they met up with Tenchi, to discuss what had just happened.

* * *

We all met up back at Yusuke's house again to report back. I hadn't found Kurama or Hiei (not that I thought I would; they were both bound to be good at covering their tracks), but I had found a warehouse (and a bunch of pissed-off punks spoiling for a fight. They got it) at the docks that still had traces of theirs and Gohki's demonic energy; most likely another of their meeting places. They, of course, had far better luck. The fact that they probably didn't get lost and wander around in the same general area for almost half an hour probably helped there, though I kept that to myself. I'd also done myself no favors by spending an hour practicing the Hamon techniques I remembered; it was a productive hour though, and I'd worked out two moves well enough that I felt I could use them in a fight without worry.

"So in three days you'll meet him at the hospital, and then he'll just hand the Forlorn Hope over to you?" I asked, seeking confirmation.

"Yep. 'Least, that's what he said," Yusuke confirmed.

"You realize this could very well be a trap, right?" I asked.

"He's right, Yusuke," Botan said. "It's no coincidence that he asked for three more days. By then the moon will be full, and that means that the Forlorn Hope will activate. When that happens, the mirror will reflect the strongest desire of whoever looks into it, and that desire will be granted. But their heart's desire comes at a price."

"And that price is…?" I said, hoping to lead her on.

"I have no idea," Botan said. "Very few people know, actually. But what matters is that getting the mirror back is pointless if his wish destroys the Earth, or something just as bad!"

"But he could just do that by himself, right? Why would he go out of his way to meet me?" Yusuke pointed out.

"You have a point there," I said. Inwardly, I noted that it would make perfect sense if the Forlorn Hope required a human sacrifice or something along those odious lines, but kept it to myself. It'd all work out anyway.

"Yes, that is a tough one," Botan admitted.

"Besides, I just… kind of get the feeling I should trust him," Yusuke said. Why was he looking at me when he said that?

"A feeling, huh?" I asked, tilting my head to the side a bit. "I suppose there are worse reasons to trust someone, though frankly I think this is a pretty serious matter to entrust to your gut feelings."

"Maybe, but… when I looked into his eyes, he looked more sad than evil. Maybe even a little scared." Seriously, was there something on my face? Whatever; I resolved to ignore it.

Botan sighed. "I just wish we had more information on this guy. If we weren't fumbling around for his background, we might have some idea of what he might be trying to accomplish…" Damn it, now she was doing it too!

"Okay, is there something on my face?" I asked suddenly. "Because you two keep staring at me. Did something happen while you were on patrol that you aren't telling me?"

"What? No, nope, nothing at all, why would we hide anything, don't be silly!" Botan said with a lot of forced cheer, gesturing wildly. She was an absolutely terrible liar.

"Hey guys, I'm making dinner! Tenchi, Botan, do you want to stay over to eat? I brought plenty of food," Atsuko said, entering the room before I could press the pair for information.

"Oh, thank you, that would be lovely!" Botan said, relieved at the interruption. Glancing out the window, I saw something that made me blink.

"Geez mom, knock before you come in, would ya? We were having a private conversation!" Yusuke snapped.

Atsuko's response was cut off by me. "Actually, I should probably head home," I said. "It's a bit of a walk and I'd rather not get back too late."

"Huh?" Yusuke and Botan both said.

I bowed to Atsuko. "Thank you for your hospitality," I said, and walked out the door.

Once outside, I turned towards a building overlooking Yusuke's house and spotted Kurama. Catching his eye, I crooked my finger at him to follow me.

I walked to a vacant lot and stopped, turning to face the demon turned human.

"You're Kurama, right?" I asked.

"I am," he said with a nod. "I would presume that you are known as Tenchi Higashikata, correct?"

My eyes widened. "How did you know my name? There's no way Yusuke and Botan told it to you, and I haven't made any kind of reputation for myself yet. So how long have you been spying on us?"

"My apologies, but when someone appears with such strange abilities as yours appears I make it a point to be as well-informed about them as possible. I have, as you say, been observing you and your allies ever since you defeated Gohki."

"And what exactly have you figured out?" I asked with a slight tilt of my head.

"About you, specifically? Very little; I must compliment you on your abilities in covering your tracks. I have been unable to find any hint as to where you might have attained your powers and the training you clearly display in them.

"But about the Spirit Detective, Yusuke Urameshi? Very much."

"Is that why you met up with him, asked him to meet you in three days? Because you can predict what he'll do more easily? Because you think you can take him, if it comes to that?"

"I see he told you about that; I wondered if he would put that much trust in you. Truth be told it's less that I think I can predict his actions or defeat him in combat, and more that I believe that he will understand _my_ actions."

"Whoa, wait, back up, what do you mean you're surprised they told me? You think they don't trust me?"

"You must admit that the circumstances of your arrival and the assistance you gave to Yusuke were quite suspicious; Koenma has told them that he believes you might intend to steal the Artifacts of Darkness for yourself. Is he correct?" Kurama's said, eyes narrowed. His voice was still soft, but there was a hint of steel buried in it.

"What!?" I yelled. "Why the hell would he…" I trailed off as my mind began to piece together _exactly_ why I might be considered suspicious. "Oh. Oh shit, I am suspicious as all _hell_."

Kurama hid his amused smile behind his hand. "I see. So you hadn't even considered taking them for yourself. I'm relieved; the wish I intend to make on the Forlorn Hope could be rendered pointless if the artifacts fell back into the wrong hands; hence my willingness to assist the Spirit Detective in recovering it once I'm done."

I wanted to say "Your wish to save your human mother, right?" but couldn't. The words simply died in my throat. Right; I have no way of knowing that, or at least none that I would be able to convince Kurama with, since he's been following me.

"And what wish would that be?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, but if you'd like to know that you'll have to wait three days to find out," Kurama said coolly.

"Afraid I'll try to stop you if you tell me what you're planning? I guess you're the type who plays things as close to the vest as possible."

"Yes."

"You realize that doesn't exactly inspire trust, right? If you aren't willing to tell me what your wish is, or why you want Yusuke to meet you there at the hospital, I can't really assume you're on the up-and-up. After all, all you said was that you'd give the mirror back. You didn't say you'd turn yourself in, and you're crazy if you think Koenma will just let you walk away after breaking into Spirit World and taking the artifacts." The words left my mouth without me even thinking about them. I knew what his wish was; why was I pushing?

"And will you try to stop me?" Kurama asked, eyes narrowing again.

"I might," I said, my mouth once again speaking without my permission. "Unless you change your mind about telling me."

"I'm sorry, but I cannot do that. And I've no intention of allowing you to jeopardize my plans," Kurama said sadly. He reached into his hair and grabbed something between two fingers. Oh shit, he's reaching for his seeds. This could get bad. Why was I picking a fight?

Much like when ROB had spoken to me, I _felt_ the explanation sear itself into my being.

 _You Needed Worthy Opponents._ It didn't just add in new opponents, it also _caused_ fights that didn't need to happen, even by hijacking my body to start them! That motherfucker ROB didn't give me enough points for this shit!

I took up a combat stance as Kurama's demonic energy flared, and the thing in his hand grew into a… giant blade of grass? Hold on, wasn't his weapon of choice the Rose Whip?

"Grass Blade!" Kurama called out. Seeing my confused expression (and misinterpreting what it meant), he explained, "Do not be fooled. I have the ability to control plants. By growing it with my demonic energy, this blade of grass has become sharp enough to cut steel."

"Is this really so important to you that you'd rather kill me than tell me what's going on, just on the chance I might try to stop you? Depending on what it is, I might help you, you know," I managed to say, hoping that I might still be able to avoid a fight.

"I apologize, but it is a chance I cannot bring myself to take. I am not a trusting person by nature, and though I feel no ill will from you, you are yet a stranger to me. But I do not intend to kill you; if I simply incapacitate you for the next three days, you will be unable to stop me."

I chuckled. "So there's no way around this, huh? You won't tell me unless I beat it out of you, and I can't just back down without finding out what your wish is; there's too much at stake for both of us." I literally couldn't. Stupid ROB. I mean come on, forcing heroes to fight each other on their first meeting just to make things more exciting? What was this, a comic book?

He gave a sad smile. "That is correct." That comic book had better come with a trading card. Or at least a holographic cover.

I punched my fists together and smirked, pretending to be much more confident than I really was. "Fine then! Let's get this party started!"


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

Kurama and I stood still, appraising each others' defenses and looking for any hint of an opening to exploit. He held his Grass Blade like a fencer, body held to the side with his right side facing me, left hand on his hip and his legs facing forward and held slightly apart, the blade held in front of him in a position where it could be used to thrust or block as the situation called for.

I also kept my body to the side, and my right side was also the one facing him, feet facing forward, my left leg was directly under my body while the right was held apart, knee slightly bent as I stood on the ball of my heel. Both of my arms faced Kurama, bent at the elbow so that the upper arms were parallel to my torso. My right hand formed a fist, while my left was held with palm upraised as though in a "stop" gesture.

We circled each other slowly, both of us hoping for some kind of advantage. Finally, Kurama lunged forward, repeatedly thrusting his Grass Blade at me. I nimbly dodged each blow with as little movement as possible, countering with quick punches with my right arm that he dodged just as easily I did.

Finally, I saw my chance and grabbed his blade mid-thrust between the finger and thumb of my left hand and threw a punch with my right. Kurama quickly let go of the blade so that he could step back, just out of my fist's reach…

And was knocked back when by my Ripple-infused punch struck him square in the face. I pressed the attack by stepping forward with a flurry of blows. With some difficulty, Kurama managed to dodge them all, until he tried once again to back away from a blow instead of dodging. Once more, he was struck by the punch, this time to his stomach. However, I was unable to press my luck a second time, as he had grown a new Grass Blade as he dodged and stabbed up at the air where my arm had been; if I hadn't thrown myself to the side at the last second, he would have stabbed right through my wrist. As it was, I got off with a light scratch on my hand.

"Ah, so that's how it works. Somehow, you're able to stretch your arm. I wasn't able to see it the first time; the perspective meant I was looking directly into your fist, and so couldn't see your arm extending. In order to better observe it I had to deliberately leave an opening at my stomach for you to capitalize on," Kurama said, retaking his fencer's pose.

I smirked, once again taking my combat stance as we stood apart and circled one another. "So you deliberately left yourself open and took the second punch, just so you could figure out how I landed the first one. A clever move; gutsy too. Your analysis is dead on: Sendo is more than just a simple fighting style, or a particular method for harnessing spirit energy: it's a way of mastering one's own body.

"Using my energy to loosen and stretch the muscles and joints, I was able to extend the length of my arm. The same energy that allowed me to do that also kept me from feeling any pain, and then contracted all of it back into place. It also kept enough force in the blow to hurt you when it connected. It's a technique called the Zoom Punch."

"A clever technique with interesting implications, if what you say is true. But now that I've identified it, its tactical value is almost nothing. In fact, using it becomes a liability. It is less an attack and more a trick to catch the unwary or ignorant off-guard, or to finish off an enemy already off their guard. In order to dodge my Grass Blade, you had to move your entire body; I would surmise that you can't move your arm easily or quickly while it is extended," Kurama said.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. He was right; I'd realized the first time I successfully pulled it off in practice that the Zoom Punch was really only effective when your opponent didn't know what you were doing, or just couldn't do anything about it for whatever reason. I'd hoped I'd get more mileage out of it, since I had only nailed down one other technique that I could use in this environment that he hadn't already seen.

Kurama and I continued to circle each other. This time I made the first move, rushing the redhead. Kurama retaliated with a horizontal slash. Stopping short, I kicked the blade up into the air to parry it, then pumped energy into my leg to jump into the air from my prone position and then kick Kurama in the side of his head, knocking him to the ground.

He recovered almost the instant he hit the ground and reached into his hair for seeds again, this time growing three roses, each held between his fingers.

"Rose Dart!" he called out, throwing one of the roses at my foot at great speed. I dodged by jumping back as the rose embedded itself stem-first several inches into the ground.

"Rose Dart!" he yelled again, throwing one rose after the other, forcing me to keep dodging his projectiles. All of them were aimed at my legs and feet; apparently he wanted to restrict my range of motion. I was able to keep dodging them, but it became a little harder every time, as he maneuvered me into more awkward positions; some of them were able to nick me here and there. If this kept up, he'd get lucky with his shots sooner rather than later.

As I rolled on the ground to dodge the next barrage of roses, I pulled several of the roses that had already been thrown out of the ground.

"Those roses are useless to you!" Kurama called out. "I've only inserted enough demon energy in my Rose Darts to strengthen them until they make contact; once it's expended, they're simple garden variety roses."

My reply was to throw one of the roses at him. In his surprise, he barely dodged it, and the rose sheared off a few strands of his vibrant red hair as it whizzed past his head.

I threw all but one of the remaining four roses in quick sequence, forcing _him_ to dodge them, running forward as I did so and delivering a punishing flying knee to his stomach. He collapsed on all fours, gasping for breath.

I held the last rose up to his neck. "Plants may be your specialty, but I'd say I have a bit of a green thumb myself. I think this is my win. Feel like telling me what you plan to do with the Forlorn Hope yet?" I asked.

Shakily, he started to laugh. That wasn't a good sign. "Actually, I believe the victory is mine," he said, holding a hand up towards me. That _definitely_ wasn't a good sign.

A deep purple vine launched itself from under his sleeve and wrapped itself around my neck, constricting like a python. As its strangling grip tightened, I dropped the rose as I instinctively grabbed the vine with my hands, trying to pull it off of my neck.

"That is the Strangler Vine, an aptly named plant native to Spirit World," Kurama calmly explained as he stood up, hand still on his stomach as he caught his breath. He stepped back just far enough that I couldn't reach him. "Your Sendo techniques are reliant on a special breathing pattern, correct? Then the best option to neutralize you is obviously to restrict your breathing. Don't worry; I'll release you once you lose consciousness. You had no time to inhale much air, so you should lose consciousness in less than a minute. I'm sorry, but this fight is over."

So that was his plan from the beginning. My enhanced respiratory system was helping to protect me, but unless I could break free I'd still be choked out eventually; it would just take a few minutes as opposed to less than one.

Removing my left hand from the vine, I made a "gun" gesture and pointed the index finger at the vine where it wrapped around the front of my neck, taking care to point it away from my body, and fired the Spirit Gun.

"What!?" Kurama cried out.

The vine was broken, and I quickly tore the rest of it from my neck. Rushing Kurama, I laid into him with several furious punches charged by what little was left of my energy, ending with an uppercut that launched him several inches into the air and sent him crashing to the ground. This time, he didn't get up.

"I'll admit, that was a very cunning plan, hiding the vine under your jacket while you grew it to a good enough size to strangle me with, then releasing it when I got close," I said, breathing heavily. "Restricting my breathing was also a good idea. The only flaw was that you apparently forgot that I'm not _completely_ reliant on Sendo. The Spirit Gun isn't quite as versatile as my Sendo techniques, but it gets the job done just as well in a pinch."

I moved to take a step, but my foot was caught on something. Looking down, I gasped in shock, as another deep purple vine was growing out from the ground and coiling around my foot, moving up my leg rapidly.

"Admittedly, that was a rather grievous oversight on my part," Kurama said, still lying on the ground as I struggled with the vine rapidly growing up my leg. "Luckily, I made sure to grow much more of the Strangler Vine than I needed, just in case; I kept most of it in reserve. And as I recall, the Spirit Gun is a technique that can only be used once in a day."

I looked at him as the Strangler Vine reached my waist, and saw the vine poking out from his left sleeve, burrowing into the ground next to his hand. That was where it was coming from! Well, there was a time for trump cards, and this was it.

The docks, as it turned out, were a common hangout for delinquents and thugs. There were more than a few warehouses that weren't used often or just plain abandoned, so they were often used as impromptu meeting places. I'd found this out firsthand while searching the place for signs of Hiei and Kurama. More than a few had picked a fight, but they were so weak and unskilled that I hadn't even needed to expend any spirit energy to kick their asses.

More importantly, a few had pulled knives on me, and I'd kept an especially nice butterfly knife (which probably wasn't legal in Japan, come to think of it). Pulling it from my pocket I quickly unfolded it and, channeling energy through it, strengthened it enough to start hacking away at the vines creeping up on me. It was no Metal Silver Overdrive, but it would do.

I could only barely keep up, though; I had to be careful with my cuts, and the vines grew at a rapid rate, and had spread halfway up my torso.

Thinking quickly, I threw myself forward onto the ground to land right beside Kurama, severing the Strangler Vine at the point where it started burrowing into the ground. The vine coiling around me, having lost the source of demonic energy that fueled it, stopped growing, and I sliced it to ribbons and rolled away from Kurama to avoid being caught by vines again.

I lunged at him with my Ripple-infused knife while Kurama forced himself into a sitting position. Before he could finish getting up, I held the knife to his throat, right at his jugular. "Alright, unless you've got another trick to pull, I think we're done here," I said wearily.

"I do, actually, but I agree with your assessment nonetheless," Kurama said with a smile. Blinking in surprise, I looked down and saw that he wasn't the only one with a blade held to his vitals. Somehow Kurama had gotten a Grass Blade the size of a knife without me noticing, and was currently holding it to my chest, just over my heart.

"Heh, looks like we've got an old-fashioned Mexican standoff," I said. "So… where do you think we should go from here?"

"I believe I will concede the victory," Kurama said with a sigh. "You are obviously willing to risk your own life, or to kill me, if I continue to refuse to reveal what I intend to wish for. I must be alive to make the wish at all, so I have no choice but to take a chance and hope that you will agree with my goals."

Lowering my butterfly knife, I held out my hand to help him up. Blinking in surprise he took it. Dusting himself off, he took a deep breath and began his story.

Kurama's motivation was exactly as I remembered it. After hearing him out (though he neglected to mention the price the Forlorn Hope extracted, and I neglected to ask), I agreed that his wish was worth making, and promised not to interfere. With little else left to say, we both parted ways. Or rather, Kurama started asking me questions about myself and I decided to opt out and head back home. Kurama's really far too perceptive and cunning for me to be comfortable telling lies or half-truths to, and I certainly couldn't tell the truth, so I decided discretion was the better part of deception.

* * *

The three days had passed uneventfully; we immediately went out to search the city each day after school and found nothing except for occasional traces of Hiei's demon energy. Even those felt like they were left deliberately, as though Hiei was taunting us. Both Yusuke and I did find a weak demon or two; some were causing trouble and were quickly caught and turned over to Botan, who sent them to Spirit World for judgment, while others were just keeping their heads down and surviving in the Human World. For demons as weak as them, this place was a paradise compared to Demon World, and they didn't want to jeopardize a safe existence here for cheap thrills. At least, that's what they told me. They were left alone with a warning to keep up the good behavior, or else.

On the third day, the sun was just starting to set when I decided I was done looking for the day. I'd promised Kurama I wouldn't interfere with his wish, but that didn't mean I wouldn't be there, after all. I kind of wanted to meet the woman who turned a murderous demonic thief into a total momma's boy (albeit with a vicious streak a mile wide).

Unfortunately, my plan had two flaws: the first was that I couldn't remember how to find the place. The second was that a couple of street punks had decided that now was the time to pick a fight. About a dozen of them, in fact, all looking like the cat that caught the canary. They were all armed: baseball bats, wooden swords, etc. One of them had a particularly long switchblade.

"Well hey there, buddy, you lost? This is a dangerous part of town, you know. You go walking around like you own the place, might get into trouble," the thug with the switchblade said. He had a reedy, nasal voice, his face was rather ratlike, and he was tall and wiry.

"Hehe, yeah. But don't worry, we'll help you out, pal. We won't even charge you too much for it," said another, this one a big meathead hefting a baseball bat.

"Hey wait, I saw this guy hangin' out with Urameshi!" another punk declared, pointing at me. "Yeah! He was standing off to the side while Urameshi was beatin' on some guys from Hirin, and when he was done with'em Urameshi walked off right along with this punk like they was friends or somethin'!"

"Oooh, is that right?" Switchblade said, his face contorting in a cruel parody of a grin. "Friends with Urameshi, huh? 'Fraid you got bad taste in friends, buddy. See that little shit's been humiliating us all for way too long, it's got us kinda… pent up, you know? So no offense, but I think we're gonna hafta spend some time taking it out on you."

"Is that so?" I said, one corner of my mouth lifting in amusement and my hands in my pockets, looking cool as you please. "The twelve of you, all with weapons, against me, with my bare hands? Seems kind of unfair, if you ask me."

"Well sorry to say, but we ain't really the kinda guys that believe much in fair fights," Switchblade said, almost leering now at the prospect of causing pain to the friend of his enemy.

"Well it's your lucky day, 'cause this ain't gonna _be_ a fair fight!" a voice called out. Looking to the source of the voice on our right, I saw one Kazuma Kuwabara and his three lackeys whose names I never remembered. I'd actually seen them around – we were in the same class, after all – but we hadn't talked as of yet.

"'Cause I'm worth a hundred of you punks all by myself!" he continued boastfully.

"Fuck you say, you little bitch!?" one of the punks yelled, brandishing a wooden sword. "Like we need to hear that from the dumbass who gets his clock cleaned by Urameshi every fuckin' day!"

"It's not as though any of you, no matter your numbers, have ever done any better," I pointed out, drawing their attention back to me. "At least he's man enough to fight Yusuke himself, instead of trying to beat up people who hang out with him because he's too _chickenshit_ to take him on twelve to one."

"You motherfucker!" the meathead with the baseball bat yelled, charging me. I heard gasps of shock from Kuwabara and his friends – there was no way any of them could reach me in time. The thug brought his bat down to strike me right in the skull, yelling savagely.

He never got the chance to touch me. With a single blow to the stomach he collapsed on top of me, falling over unconscious and draping himself limply over my shoulder. Clicking my tongue in annoyance I pushed him off me and let him hit the ground, brushing off my shoulder.

"I told you it wasn't going to be a fair fight," I said coldly, as the thugs looked at me with fear in their eyes. "And I meant it. I'm worth a thousand of you losers all by myself."

"Hey, that was my line! Wait a minute, a thousand! Are you tryin' to say you're ten times stronger than me!?" Kuwabara yelled indignantly. Everyone else was just staring at me, dumbstruck.

I chose not to respond and instead charged forward at the thugs, taking out three of them before they even knew I was there with a single roundhouse kick. By the time their brains processed what happened I'd taken out another with a smack to the side of the head that sent him straight to the ground. By the time they had raised their weapons to attack me I'd knocked out two others by slamming my outstretched palms into their chests, sending them flying back several feet to crash to the ground. And by the time Kuwabara had run over to me, they were all down for the count.

I looked at him as he reached me. "I didn't really need the help, but you couldn't have known that, so thank you very much for trying. People talk about you as though you're just another punk, but it seems like you have a sense of honor after all."

He perked up at that. Good; I'd worried I might be laying it on a bit thick. "Well, I mean, it's true that not many people these days understand what bein' a man's all about," he said, hands on his hips and chin thrust heroically into the air. "But I'm Kazuma Kuwabara, buddy! I'm a man of honor, through and through!"

He dropped the pose and looked at me. "So you're the new student, right? The one in our class? Ten-something?"

"Tenchi," I corrected him. "Tenchi Higashikata."

"Right, that was it," he said with a nod. He extended his hand for me to shake, which I did. "Those were some pretty cool moves out there. You looked like something out of a kung fu movie!"

"I do practice martial arts," I admitted with a smile.

"Practice? Are you kidding? That was way more than 'practice!'" One of the Kuwabara's friends said, as the three of them had gotten over their shock and followed their leader over to me. "I couldn't even _see_ some of those moves, they were so fast!"

"Just remember: it's all in the breathing," I said jokingly. "Nice to meet you all, by the way, but I don't think I know any of your names."

"I'm Hiro Kirishima," one of the three spoke up; the tallest one, with a rather generic face and messy sand-colored hair.

"Taro Sadamura," said the one with the shaved head.

"Ichiro Okubo," piped up the portly one with black hair styled like a greaser.

"So uh, Tenchi, right? Is what those guys said about you being friends with Urameshi true?" Okubo asked.

At that question, the three started sending nervous glances at Kuwabara. "Well, sort of, I guess," I said. "We've hung out a few times, at least."

"Wow, seriously? Gotta say man, your taste in friends is kinda whack," Kuwabara said without a hint of irony.

I tried to stifle a laugh. "Yeah, well, the principal assigned Keiko Yukimura to help show me around school when I transferred, and she introduced us, so…"

"Oh, that's right, I did see you talking to Keiko a few times. She's a nice girl," he said with a sage nod. "Don't know what she sees in that punk Urameshi, though…"

"There's someone out there for everyone, I suppose," I said, remembering a certain teal-haired ice maiden. "Just look at is as proof that even guys like you can find someone willing to give them the time of day."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!?" Kuwabara asked indignantly. "And hey! Don't think I forgot what you said about being ten times stronger than me!"

"And? You calling me a liar?" I asked with a teasing grin.

"Heck yeah I am! I'm the second-toughest punk at Sarayashiki Junior High, and soon I'll be the first!" Kuwabara proclaimed.

"Well, I'm not a punk, so your position's in no danger from me," I pointed out. "You'll just have to be content with the fact that I'll always be the strongest _fighter_ in Sarayashiki."

"Oh, them's fightin' words pal!" Kuwabara declared hotly.

"That's why I said them," I pointed out with a smile. "It'll be nice to have someone to spar with, even if you're only a step up from beating up a sandbag."

More importantly, it would be a good start to helping him train later, to keep him from falling behind the others as a fighter.

Without further ado, Kuwabara and I took up stances. Well, I took up a stance, Kuwabara just kind of hunched over and raised his fists in a pale imitation of a boxer. "Alright, punk, I hope you've enjoyed your kung fu movie moment, because now you're going to feel my Fists of Fury!"

"Huh. That's actually not a bad reference. I approve," I said as Okubo, Sawamura and Kirishima all hastily moved out of the way. "Your use of it came off as a little forced though; you might want to work on that."

"Are we gonna fight or trade banter tips!?"

"Ladies first."

"That's it!" Kuwabara yelled, throwing a slow, telegraphed punch for my face. I used my hand to divert the attack and then stepped around Kuwabara, causing him to awkwardly hop around on one foot as his fist sailed through the air where my head had been and losing his balance.

"Too slow, and you telegraph all your moves," I said critically. "No wonder you can't hit Yusuke." I'd seen Yusuke fighting a few thugs; he didn't really have a lick of finesse either, but he was pretty fast and hit damn hard. Relatively speaking, at least.

"Shut up!" Kuwabara yelled, throwing a flurry of punches that I easily dodged with small, simple movements to the left and right. Moving past him, I swept his legs out from under him, sending him tumbling to the ground as I turned around to face him again, taking a few steps back to allow him some room.

"Your footwork is awful, too. If you're going to rely on punches so much, you need to at least ensure you have good footwork, otherwise anyone who knows how to throw a kick or aim for your legs will be all over you."

"Shut it! Except for Urameshi, I've never lost a fight in my life!"

"Yeah, and who were you fighting? Thugs like these guys?" I asked, jabbing a finger at the unconscious bodies I'd left where they fell. "Guys even more clueless about a fight than you, with nothing but experience to guide them and without even the benefit of your natural physical strength?

"If you really want to be a fighter – if you really want to be a match for Yusuke – you need to stop measuring yourself by the standards of street punks and aim for something higher. You've got the potential in spades," I said encouragingly.

"I – what the hell are you playing at in the middle of a fight!?" Kuwabara yelled incredulously.

"Teaching. A fight's worthless if you don't learn anything from it," I explained. "Well, a fight like this is, at least. And besides, I hate seeing people not live up to their potential, and you definitely aren't."

As Kuwabara processed that statement, I walked over to the unconscious thugs and picked up one of the wooden swords they'd wielded. As Kuwabara's friends looked on nervously, I tested it out of a few times. Not bad; kind of cheap though. It would do.

I threw it to Kuwabara, who caught it easily, and picked up a second one. Not very good, but it would do. I walked up to Kuwabara until I was just a few feet away from him and took up a kendo-like stance. "You seem like you'd be well-suited to using a sword. Let's try this again, alright?"

"… You're freaking weird, you know that?" he said bluntly, before tightening his grip on the wooden sword. "Alright, fine, but don't say I didn't warn you!"

I easily ducked his swing and then jabbed him hard in his wrist, causing his grip to slacken on the sword.

"You're holding that sword like it's a baseball bat," I criticized. "And your attacks are just as telegraphed as before. That's a big problem with a sword, because all of your opponent's attention is on it from the beginning."

Spinning around rapidly, Kuwabara struck another mightly slash. This time I blocked it, our "blades" locked together. I held back on my strength so it looked like Kuwabara was gaining the upper hand (which caused his cheering section to start shouting encouragement) – I didn't want to shatter his confidence or anything, so I figured I could at least pretend he had greater strength to balance out my skill and speed – but then I suddenly broke from the blade lock and flipped through the air to kick him square in the side of the head, landing cleanly on my feet. I stepped back as Kuwabara quickly got back to his feet; his ability to take a hit certainly lived up to the hype.

"Better, but you fell into the same trap most people do when fighting with swords; you paid too much attention to the swords themselves and forget that they're being wielded by people. A sword is an extension of your body, but all that means is that it's a single extra limb. You don't ignore all your other limbs and only punch with one arm, right? It's fine to favor one, but you still need to use the others and pay attention to them."

As Kuwabara rushed in for another blow and I readied myself to block it, both of us froze in our tracks, our eyes widening in shock and fear.

Frantically, I leapt away and ran towards Kuwabara's friends at full speed, dive-tackling Okubo just as a short black-clad demon stabbed the air Okubo had occupied with a demonic sword.

I kicked off with my hands to launch myself feet-first at Hiei, who easily dodged the kick and attempted to bisect me with a single downward slash.

I blocked steel with wood, channeling energy through the wooden sword to give it the strength to block the attack.

"Go!" I yelled at Kuwabara's friends as Okubo slowly got to his feet, Hiei and I erupting into a flurry of slashes and blocks that was slowly forcing me back. "Get out now! I can't fight him and protect you at the same time!"

"Listen to him!" Kuwabara shouted, readying his wooden sword. "You guys go get the cops; let us handle this!"

"W-We'll be back soon Kazuma! Just don't get hurt!" Sawamura implored as the three of them began running at full speed to a police station or a pay phone.

"Kuwabara, you leave too! You can't handle this!" I shouted.

Kuwabara ignored me and charged in with a shout, sword upraised to deliver a mighty downward swing. Hiei leapt back to get out of my range and, without even looking back, kicked Kuwabara in the side and sent him flying several feet away, hacking and coughing.

"So you're Tenchi Higashikata, the boy who both defeated Gohki and fought Kurama to a draw. I must say, I'm… somewhat less than impressed. I was expecting someone less sentimental," he said coolly.

"I could say the same for you, Hiei of the Jagan. I was expecting someone a bit less… tiny," I retorted.

"I'm sure I'll seem much taller once I've cut you in half," Hiei threatened, readying his blade again.

Coughing and hacking, Kuwabara got to his feet, wooden sword at the ready again. "You even try it and you'll have _me_ to answer to, you little punk!"

"Kuwabara! Get out! You can feel his energy, can't you!? He's not human! If you try to fight him, you'll die!" I yelled.

"Listen to your friend, oaf. You aren't even a speck to me, so do us all a favor and get out," Hiei said. "I hate having to do pest control."

"Nothing doing! I'm not leaving you here to fight this psycho by yourself, Tenchi!" Kuwabara yelled.

"I'd find that nobility impressive if it weren't coming from a fool too stupid to realize how outmatched he is," Hiei replied, eyes still on me.

"I hate to say it, but I kind of agree with you on that one," I sighed.


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

As Hiei and I stared each other down, I looked at the blade he was brandishing. "So that's the Shadow Sword, isn't it? The third Artifact of Darkness."

"Obviously," Hiei said with a smirk, holding up the blade so I could see it. "Perhaps the most impressive of the three, in my opinion. Unless they have significant reserves of Spirit Energy to act as a sort of antitoxin, any human cut by this sword – even just a scratch – will turn into the lowest form of demon, at the beck and call of whoever holds the sword."

"So if I hadn't saved Okubo…"

"He would probably be eating those other two fools right now," Hiei finished for me.

"You son of a bitch!" Kuwabara yelled, charging in for another swing.

Looking bored, Hiei blocked Kuwabara's swing with the flat of his blade and swiftly kicked his legs out from under him. As Kuwabara hit the ground, Hiei looked me dead in the eye… and gave Kuwabara a tiny scratch on the cheek with the very point of the blade.

"No!"

"Like I said, even just a scratch is enough. This human seems to have some level of spiritual awareness, but it won't be enough to keep him from turning," Hiei said.

"You- Ack! Ahhh!" Kuwabara yelled, pressing his hand to the wound. "What the hell is this!? Is-Is this an eye!?"

Sure enough, the small cut started to open just a little bit, and I could see something white underneath it.

"Brilliant deduction, oaf," Hiei said mockingly. "When that third eye opens, the toxin of the sword will take effect, and your life as a human will end forever."

"Oh crap, what's going on!? I can barely move!"

"That's another symptom of the toxin taking effect. It saps your energy as it turns you into a demon," Hiei explained.

He turned to face me. "Your little friend here has more Spirit Energy in him than I'd guessed; not only is he still conscious, but the third eye is opening very slowly. You have perhaps two minutes, three at best, before the transformation occurs. The only antidote is in the hilt of this sword. Do you think you can take it from me in that time?"

My answer was to throw my butterfly knife at his head. Hiei dodged it casually, even letting it graze his hair and slice off a few long, black strands.

I followed the blade and rushed him, attacking with my Hamon-enforced wooden sword.

"You bastard!" I yelled as I attacked him.

Hiei continued to block or dodge every attack easily, his speed making him more than a match for my wild swings.

"Is this the best you can do? Pathetic. I can't believe Kurama could have ever had trouble with you," he said contemptuously.

"Shut! The! Fuck! _Up!_ " I yelled, punctuating each word with a wild slash.

At the last blow, Hiei stopped moving entirely, and took the blow full-on as I brought the sword down on his shoulder with all my strength. He staggered a bit from the impact, but otherwise barely seemed to feel it.

"Wh-What…?"

"What's the matter? Your blows are so weak right now I doubt you could harm a child," Hiei taunted. With contemptuous ease, he sliced the "blade" of my wooden sword right off with the Shadow Sword. "And you can't even reinforce your weapon anymore. It seems your 'Hamon' is a very fragile thing. How disappointing."

My eyes widened in realization. My breathing had gone out of synch when I'd lost my temper and started swinging at Hiei blindly. And without the proper breathing…

Hiei used his free hand to deliver a hard punch to the gut, sending me to my knees, sputtering and coughing.

"You can't even handle a single punch. Pitiful," Hiei said as he brought the sword up to my neck. "If this is the best you can do, that so-called Spirit Detective will be-"

"Hah!" Kuwabara yelled as he punched Hiei in the face. Out of surprise as much as pain, the three-eyed demon lost his footing and took several staggering steps back.

"Kuwa… bara…?" I gasped. How did he…?

"What!? How!? You shouldn't even be able to stand!" Hiei exclaimed.

"If you think a little scratch is gonna keep me from whoopin' your butt, you've got another thing coming, short stack!" Kuwabara yelled, hefting his wooden sword like a bat. "First you attack Okubo, then you try to use me as a hostage to get to Tenchi! You got a lot to answer for, punk!"

Hiei gave a dark chuckle. "Unbelievable. You actually used your feelings of helplessness and outrage as a catalyst for releasing your Spirit Energy. With as much as I can sense from you now, the toxin will no longer have any effect on you."

I'd realized the same thing. I could sense Spirit Energy emanating from Kuwabara. It wasn't that much – a little less than Yusuke had had when I first met him, before I unlocked his potential for the Ripple – but it seemed like it was enough to do the job.

"Damn skippy it won't work!" Kuwabara exclaimed, pointing his wooden sword at Hiei. "So what are you gonna do now, runt!?"

The eye in the middle of Hiei's forehead widened, and suddenly Kuwabara froze, paralyzed and unable to move.

"Fool. Just because you've got enough power in now you to overcome the toxins of the Shadow Sword doesn't mean you aren't still an ant compared to me," Hiei declared, his voice heavy with contempt.

Before Kuwabara could react – probably before he could even see it – the Shadow Sword lashed out and scored a deep, long cut on the hand Kuwabara was using to hold his wooden sword. It dropped to the ground with a clatter as Kuwabara fell to one knee clutching his hand with a pained howl.

"Sorry, did I touch a nerve?" Hiei asked mockingly. "It looks like it. Probably a few tendons, too. Did that answer your question, oaf?"

With a cruel smirk, Hiei raised the Shadow Sword up for a finishing blow.

"Spirit Gun!"

Even with his reflexes and speed, Hiei only narrowly dodged the Spirit Gun, and was left open when I charged him, blocking a desperate swipe with the Shadow Sword with my re-reinforced piece of a wooden sword and head-butting him right in one of his most vulnerable areas: his Evil Eye.

"Aaahh!" Hiei yelled in pain as he staggered back, bringing up his free hand to clutch at his forehead. "My eye! My Jagan Eye!"

"Don't worry, soon you'll hardly notice it, 'cause the rest of you will be hurting just as much," I said.

"Alright, Tenchi! Let's clean this punk's clock!" Kuwabara said, getting back to his feet. I have to admit, for someone who just got his arm slashed, he was still pretty energetic.

"Damn it, Kuwabara, just get out here!" I yelled. "If you keep trying to fight this guy, you'll end up getting killed! What do you think would have happened if I hadn't helped you just now!?"

"The same thing that woulda happened to you if I hadn't saved your butt right before then!" Kuwabara retorted.

"I don't have time to argue about this!" I yelled as I jabbed Kuwabara hard in the chest, knocking the wind from him and sending him to the ground clutching at his sides as they burned for want of oxygen. While I was at it, I grabbed his wooden sword and dropped my broken one on the ground at his feet.

By the time I turned around to face him, Hiei had mostly recovered, though his Jagan still seemed a bit hazy and unfocused as he rubbed at it with his free hand.

"You're going to pay for that, Ripple Warrior," he said through gritted teeth.

I blinked in surprise. "Where did you hear that name?"

"It's a very obscure legend; I only heard of them by chance some time ago. An order of human exorcists and demon hunters who harness their Spirit Energy in strange ways to use mysterious techniques," Hiei explained. " You're clearly one of them. Your reaction to hearing the name confirms it."

"Call me whatever you want, it doesn't matter," I said, though internally my mind was racing. There were others like me? There were _legends_ about the Ripple here?

Who else might know about it?

"You're right, it doesn't matter. After all, who cares what a corpse is called? It's still a corpse," Hiei replied with a smirk.

As it had when he paralyzed Kuwabara, Hiei's Jagan widened and my body suddenly stiffened. But unlike Kuwabara's paralysis, my body felt only a momentary stiffness in movement; just a slight resistance that was quickly shattered, as though I were breaking through a paper barrier.

"Hmph. About what I expected," Hiei said coolly, rubbing his Jagan like one would when suffering eye strain.

"Let me guess: that little trick with your Jagan only has much of an effect if your victim is significantly weaker than you, right?" I guessed. "Makes sense. If you could do that to Kurama, you could have just taken the Forlorn Hope from him when he decided to split off from you and Gohki."

"Tch. Don't start thinking you're my equal just because that soft fool Kurama was too weak-hearted to kill you, Ripple Warrior," Hiei snapped.

"Yeah? Prove me wrong then, short stack," I taunted.

"Gladly."

Hiei charged in a blur of black cloth and steel as I ran forward to meet him in a one-armed thrust aimed at his neck.

Hiei at first looked like he was going to strike on the side that held my sword, but his feint melted into his real attack, the Shadow Sword slashing at my head. Without time to dodge or block with the sword, I held my hand out to meet the flashing steel.

Hiei's eyes widened in shock as the Shadow Sword failed to cut my hand. "What!? Hair!?"

I smirked as he noticed the long strands of black hair in my hand that had blocked him, and allowed me to grab the Shadow Sword by its blade. "Hair Guard. Turns out demon hair works just as well as human hair. Neat, huh?"

Suddenly, the wailing of sirens pierced the air, causing both of our heads to turn to the sound. At the same time, I could see Kuwabara starting to stir from his napping spot on the ground. _Shouldn't he have gotten up by now?_

"Tch. We'll settle this another time, Ripple Warrior," Hiei said, taking advantage of my lapse in attention to get the Shadow Sword free of my grip and flee at speed.

"Well, shit," I said, looking around at the battlefield. Knocked-out thugs, a wooden sword sliced clean through, bloodstains… And a semi-conscious Kuwabara.

I hoisted Sarayashiki Junior High's second-toughest punk over my shoulder, ignoring his feeble protests, and ran away from the sounds of sirens.

* * *

"What the heck are you doing!?" Kuwabara demanded as soon as he'd recovered enough to make his feelings known, struggling to get out of the position he was currently in, hoisted over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Hopefully avoiding some very awkward questions," I explained as I fled. "A midget demon with three eyes and a sword just attacked us, Kuwabara. And the main reason we didn't get diced is because I have magic powers that let me block sharpened steel with a hunk of wood. Tell me, how plausible would that sound to the cops and how good are you at lying on the spot?"

"Okay, I get it, but can you _put me down already!?_ "

"Oh, yeah, sure. Sorry. We're probably far enough away anyway."

Once I set him down, Kuwabara started brushing off his uniform until he let out a pained gasp and started cradling his hand. "Ah, crap, I forgot about this. Aw man, my sister's gonna kill me if I get home with this…"

"Wait, you still have that cut?" I asked. His Hamon should at least have _started_ to seal up the wound by now…

"What do you mean I 'still have it'? It wasn't even ten minutes ago!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

I finally noticed something that the circumstances had prevented me from realizing earlier. I narrowed my eyes as I focused on my spiritual senses to confirm my suspicion. Sure enough, Kuwabara wasn't giving off any more power than he had when he'd sucker-punched Hiei.

"Oh. I guess I must have hit the wrong point with that strike," I realized. "Sorry about that. First time doing it under pressure and all. Here, let me take care of that."

"Huh? Take care of wha-Urk!"

I quickly jabbed my finger hard into Kuwabara's midsection, causing him to double over and let out a choked gasp.

"Okay, that should be the right spot."

"*gasp* You asshole! What the heck was that for, huh!?" Kuwabara yelled once he caught his breath, grabbing me by my collar.

"I fixed your breathing patterns. Does your wound hurt as much?" I asked calmly.

Kuwabara blinked in surprise and let me go. "Actually, no, it's starting to feel better. What gives?"

I gave a sigh as I realized I was going to have to explain how Sendo worked again, which would probably lead to explaining a lot of other concepts he had never heard of. "It's going to be a long explanation. Come on, you can come with me to the hospital and I'll explain it on the way."

"The hospital? I don't think my arm's that jacked up, after whatever you just did," Kuwabara replied.

"No, we're meeting some people there… Actually, do you know how to get to the hospital? The one downtown?"

"Downtown? That's halfway across town!"

"What, seriously? Shit, I knew I took a wrong turn somewhere…"

* * *

"And keep your hand in your pocket. We don't want people examining your wound and realizing it's closing up unnaturally fast," I reminded Kuwabara as we walked through the hospital doors.

"Yeah yeah, I heard you the first time," the redheaded delinquent complained. "So who are we here to meet, anyway?"

"Yusuke, another demon, and the Grim Reaper," I said casually as we approached the desk.

Kuwabara gave me a look that just screamed "What the fuck!?" but didn't actually vocalize his feelings as I talked to the receptionist.

"Hello. Are visiting hours still… uh, open?" I ask awkwardly, unable to figure out how to properly phrase the question.

The receptionist looked at the two of us with curiosity, and maybe some suspicion. Not entirely unwarranted, given Kuwabara's appearance. "I'm sorry, but visiting hours ended a few minutes ago; the last visitors are leaving right now, in fact. But if you'd like to come another time, I can give you the schedule."

"Ugh, great. Uh… can you just tell us if one visitor in particular has left yet?" I asked. "K-I mean, Shuichi Minamino. We were going to come with him to visit his mom with another friend, but we got delayed."

The receptionist raised her eyebrow at that, but started typing into her computer regardless. "Do you know Miss Minamino's full name?" she asked.

"Uh… no," I said, wincing internally. "I've never met her; Shuichi was going to introduce us to her."

"I see… Can you tell me the names of your other friend?"

"Yusuke Urameshi."

The guarded look dropped a bit at my answer and after typing a little more on her computer, she gave an answer. "It seems they haven't signed out yet. If you'd like, you could wait for them in the waiting room."

"We will, thanks," I said, as Kuwabara and I walked off to go sit down.

"So Tenchi, just what's going on here?" Kuwabara whispered conspiratorially, looking around to see if anyone was listening in and generally looking suspicious as hell. "What's Urameshi got to do with this?"

"Stop acting like we're discussing robbing this place and I'll tell you," I answered, using my indoor voice but otherwise not bothering to do anything to try to hide what I was saying.

"Well it just doesn't seem like this is something that we want people overhearing," Kuwabara said defensively.

"Who's going to believe a word of it? Demons? Spirit Energy? Magical artifacts? They'll probably think we're talking about a manga or a video game or something," I pointed out. "Besides, I think most of the people here have more important things on their mind than eavesdropping on two junior high school students."

"Yeah, fine, I guess you have a point," Kuwabara conceded, relaxing a little bit. "Seriously though, what the heck's going on?"

"Simple. Like you and I, Yusuke has powers. Unlike you and I, though, Yusuke's in debt to the leader of Spirit World – that's the afterlife – and so to pay it off, he's working as the Spirit Detective, which basically means he finds spirits and demons that are misbehaving and beats the crap out of them."

"That doesn't really sound like a detective," Kuwabara points out.

"Yeah, it's kind of a misnamed title," I agreed. "Point is, Hiei and two other demons stole three _really_ important artifacts from Spirit World, and if they aren't returned _fast_ , the shit's gonna hit the fan in a big way."

Kuwabara gulped nervously. "How big?"

"'No more Japan' kind of big."

"… That's big," Kuwabara whispered, the shock and horror of the thought actually keeping his response very low-key.

"Yes. Yes it is. Which is why it's a good thing that Hiei's the only one left. I beat the first demon into hamburger meat after he kicked Yusuke's ass-"

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you about it some other time. And unless things have gone _really_ wrong, the second demon _should_ be about to walk out here after giving up the second artifact to Yusuke and surrendering peacefully."

"What? Why would they do that?" Kuwabara asked, dumbfounded."

"Not really my story to tell," I said with a shrug. "When they come out, you can ask… Oh hey, you can ask right now."

Sure enough, Kurama and Yusuke filed out together, neither looking any the worse for wear. Kurama was saying goodbye to several of the staff by name; suppose it made sense for him to be a regular here.

If all had gone right, hopefully that would change soon.

Kurama spotted Kuwabara and I instantly and made his way to us. Actually, I suspected he had known we were here before he even walked through the door and was just pretending otherwise, but maybe that was just my paranoia talking. Yusuke was definitely honestly surprised, though.

"What the- Kuwabara? What the hell are you doing here?" he asked as the two reached us.

"Hello Tenchi. You seem… a little tired. Did you by chance run into my _friend_ Hiei on the way here?" Kurama asked, his speech guarded.

"Yeah, I did. Both of us did, actually," I told him, prompting Kurama to frown and Yusuke's eyes to widen. "No offense, 'Shuichi,' but your friend is kind of an ass."

"My apologies. He's… fallen into bad habits recently."

I raised an eyebrow. "Okay, let's just get somewhere private so you can drop the cryptic bullcrap. I've had way too long of a day for that."

"Lead the way."

"Uh… Yeah, best I not. Hey Yusuke, take us to your house, alright?"

"What? Why the hell don't we go to _your_ house?" Yusuke demanded.

"Because it's farther from here than yours," I lied. I had no idea whether or not that was actually true. "Besides, your mom seemed to like you bringing over friends. Won't she be happy that you've made another one? Two if you count Kuwabara."

"Trust me, I don't," Yusuke said, as he and Kuwabara exchanged ugly looks.

"It's like watching two monkeys beating their chests at each other," I remarked. Kurama had the grace not to comment, but the corners of his mouth lifted up in a small smile.

* * *

Yusuke's mom was gone when we got there; according to Yusuke, she was most likely bar-crawling. The four of us were gathered in Yusuke's room.

"Okay, so we're at Urameshi's house. Now can someone explain to me what the heck is going on?" Kuwabara asked.

"I think perhaps I can take care of that," a familiar voice said from outside the window. I quickly opened it to let Botan in. "Thank you, Tenchi. Although… I have to ask, just why is Kuwabara involved in this now?"

"Because Hiei's a prick," I said tersely. Kurama sighed, but didn't object.

Kuwabara suddenly held my shoulder in a death-grip and put his face right next to my ear. "Tenchi! Who is this beautiful woman!?"

"One: get the hell out of my personal space," I said firmly as I bent Kuwabara's finger until he let go of me. "Two: she's the Grim Reaper."

"Bingo! Although personally I prefer the title 'Guide of Lost Souls,' myself," Botan said.

"Uh… what?" Kuwabara said dumbly, nursing his finger.

After hearing the full explanation, Kuwabara took a deep breath. "Okay, let me see if I've got this straight.

"Urameshi really _did_ die when he got hit by that car, but he wasn't _supposed_ to die, so the leader of the Spirit World-"

"Who still hasn't ditched the pacifier after a thousand years," Yusuke interjected despite Botan's protest.

"Who still hasn't ditched the pacifier after a thousand years, gave Urameshi a test to pass so that he could come back to life, which he did. But dying and coming back released his spiritual potential, and the immortal toddler decided to make him a Spirit Detective and gave him the job of beating the crap out of demons that acted out. And his first job was to catch three thieves who took super important magic artifacts from Spirit World before the _real_ ruler of Spirit World, found out and wiped Japan off the face of the planet. That everything?"

"Not quite. You forgot the part where I saved Yusuke's ass and took back the first artifact, and Kurama's heartwarming backstory of a demon who became a human and then repented of his wicked ways, which led to him working with the other two thieves to steal the Forlorn Hope to save his human mother," I summarized.

"I can't say I like the way you've phrased that – it makes me sound far nobler than I am – but accurate, nonetheless," Kurama conceded.

"Okay, so big, slow and stupid is up to speed. Now what the hell happened with you two and Hiei?" Yusuke asked.

"What'd you just call me, Urameshi!?" Kuwabara yelled.

"Aw, c'mon Kuwabara, we _just_ got finished explaining everything to you, and now you've gone and fallen behind again?" Yusuke asked in a faux-concerned tone. "Here, let me spell it out for you: big, slow, stupid, _you_."

"That's it, you punk-!"

While the two of them scuffled (or rather, while Yusuke beat the crap out of him and Kuwabara just refused to stay down), I began explaining to Kurama and Botan.

"… but I had picked up the hair I shaved off when I threw that knife and channeled my Ripple into it to reinforce it. Hair's stronger than steel, but it's not rigid, so that usually don't actually matter. But use Ripple to stiffen it and it makes a decent shield. Then the cops showed up and Hiei scarpered. I didn't want to stick around to answer questions, so I grabbed Kuwabara and left."

"Well, at least no one suffered any serious injuries," Botan said with a relieved sigh. "Although I'm definitely concerned about Hiei. From what you've told me, he sounds incredibly dangerous, and utterly amoral."

"Yeah, you sure can pick your friends well, Kurama," I told the demon-turned-human(?) sarcastically.

Kurama's reply was a sigh. "I wouldn't really call my relationship with Hiei friendship. That said, he didn't used to be like this. I would never have claimed him to be a moral person, but he was never so sadistic, or willing to resort to tactics like those he used against you and Kuwabara. He would have felt them beneath him."

"So what gives?" I asked. That always had bugged me, actually; how Hiei's personality did a massive shift when he showed up again in the Four Saint Beasts arc.

"I'm not entirely sure what happened, but it occurred shortly after we took the Artifacts of Darkness," Kurama explained. "It was barely noticeable at first, but Hiei began to change. Originally, he claimed he had no desire to actually _use_ the Artifacts for himself; he simply needed them to bargain for something. But once he actually had his hands on the Shadow Sword, his plans changed. Suddenly he wished to use it to create a demon army, fed by the Rapacious Orb and empowered by the Forlorn Hope."

"I believe I can explain what happened there," came another voice from outside the window, as Koenma floated into the room.

"Gah! Koenma! What the hell are you doing here!?" Yusuke yelled from where he stood over Kuwabara's bruised and beaten body. "You usually hang around outside of peoples' rooms at night?"

"I notice you didn't object when it was Botan," I pointed out.

"Who would?" Kuwabara muttered; his words were hard to make out, since Yusuke's slipper-clad foot was resting on his face.

For his part, Koenma simply ignored his Spirit Detective. "The Shadow Sword was carved from an extremely toxic stone; it's not actually a sword forged of steel," he explained. "It's commonly believed that the toxin only affects humans, but that's not quite true. The effect on demons is there, just much more subtle.

"By wielding the Shadow Sword, Hiei has been unknowingly exposing himself to large doses of its toxins. It's not just the blade that's toxic, it's the whole sword, except for the special compartment that holds the antidote. Just as it warps and corrupts the bodies of humans who lack enough Spirit Energy to fight off its effects, it subtly warps and corrupts the minds of a demon who is exposed to large enough doses of its toxins."

"So, what you're saying is, the longer he holds the sword, the more of a genocidal prick he's going to become," I summarized.

"Correct. The longer he holds onto the sword, the more his mind will be corrupted, and he'll want to use the sword more and more to wreak havoc and destruction."

"I wish I had known that before we tried to steal them," Kurama said bitterly. "I already had misgivings about the Artifacts, but I convinced myself it would come to nothing. We would simply turn on Gohki and take the Rapacious Orb from him, I would use the Forlorn Hope, and Hiei would use them to obtain what he was looking for and then let Spirit World do what they could to reclaim them. Instead…"

"Yeah, kinda screwed the pooch on that one," I said bluntly. "Giving your mother her health back isn't going to mean much if King Enma just wipes out this entire country to keep his toys from falling into the wrong hands."

"Such are the pitfalls of making decisions based on sentiment and desperation," Kurama sighed. "I suppose there's no point in castigating myself for the decisions leading up to this point. It would be more productive to do what I can to help you recover the Shadow Sword from Hiei… if you're willing to let me."

"You sure you'd be able to help?" Yusuke asked. "I mean, I don't wanna make assumptions about you based on your looks, but…"

"Yusuke, we fought three days ago and he almost beat me. More than once," I said. "So yeah, I'd say he can fight just fine."

"Wait, what!?" Botan yelled.

"Why the hell are you only telling me about this now!?" Yusuke exclaimed.

"I'm sorry. It ended in a draw, so I told him my reasons in the hopes that it would convince him to let me do follow through with my plans," Kurama said in my defense. "He promised to keep it a secret in the meantime."

"Anyway, the 'let Kurama help us' plan has my support," I said. "I'd really rather not turn down any help in fighting Hiei. Guy almost made me a whole head shorter, if you catch my drift."

"Yeah, me too. I say let him help if he wants to," Kuwabara said.

"And since when do you have a vote?" Yusuke asked.

"Since my friend got attacked by a three-eyed midget with a sword!" Kuwabara yelled. "I've got powers now, too, Urameshi, and there's no way I'm going to let that little punk run around turnin' people into demons!"

Their argument devolved into a fistfight again, so I turned to Koenma. "So, uh… am I in trouble for getting Kuwabara involved in this?"

"From the sounds of it, Hiei was the one who involved him," Koenma said reasonably. "So no. I'm a little concerned at how casually you're using your Magic Finger thing on people, though."

"… Wow. I have got to start calling it that from now on," I said with a grin.

"Are they… always like this?" Kurama asked Botan, his eyes going from me and Koenma to Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"I'd like to say no… but I'd be lying," Botan said with a weary sigh.

* * *

Walking through the forests on the edge of town, Hiei made his way to a deep cave. It was off-limits to the general populace due to a large number of mysterious disappearances and grisly deaths, but of course that didn't concern him in the slightest.

At the mouth of the cave, he flared his Demon Energy and waited for the response.

After a few minutes, two huge, hulking figures stepped out from the cave. A human who saw the two of them would probably have turned into a terrified wreck at the sight, but Hiei didn't so much as flinch.

"You… You are Hiei of the Jagan," the one on the left said, in a voice like gravel. It was a huge figure, perhaps twelve feet tall. Its proportions were human – though grotesquely muscled and clad only in a loincloth – except for the cloven hoofs it sported instead of feet and the fact that its head was that of a monstrous horse. To top off the terrifying spectacle, it wielded a massive wooden club with iron studs set into one end of it.

"That sword… the rumors are true. You are the one who stole the Shadow Sword," the other piped up; its voice had a distinctive lowing quality to it. Which was appropriate, as the bull's head it sported was the only thing differentiating it from its companion.

"That's right, I have the Shadow Sword," Hiei said, holding out the blade for them to see. "And I'm going to make a proposition for you two. The two I stole the Artifacts of Darkness with proved useless, and mere humans have managed to take the other two. Help me kill them, and I'll let you have them."

The two massive demons looked at each other for several seconds, then turned back to the diminutive three-eyed demon. "And why should we not just kill you, take the sword, and then take the other two as well?" the bull-headed one asked.

"Yes, yes! Kill them all and take the artifacts!" the horse-headed one agreed, clearly relishing the idea.

In a flash of steel too quick for either of them to detect, Hiei drew the Shadow Sword and gave them both a shallow cut on the arms with a single slash, resheathing it before they even realized it had happened.

As they gasped in pain and fear, Hiei answered them. "Because you brainless oafs could never hope to so much as touch me, and you have no hope of retrieving the other two artifacts on your own.

"So here's the deal, small fries: either you agree to my more than generous offer, or I cut you both to pieces and seek the services of demons smart enough to say yes. Understood?"

Quavering in fear, both the horse-headed demon and the bull-headed one nodded.

"Perfect," Hiei said, a wicked smirk crossing his face.


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

"I can't believe we have to go to school on Saturdays," I griped in-between classes. "You know, they don't pull this kind of crap in America. Saturday is supposed to be the best day of the week for students! It's that wondrous day where you get to goof off doing whatever you want, and unlike Sunday there's no looming specter of Monday pressing in on you."

From her own desk immediately to the side and above mine, Keiko giggled a little. "Oh, don't be so melodramatic, Tenchi," she chided me gently. "It's only for half of a normal school day, anyway."

"That only makes it half as awful, which still isn't _good_ ," I pointed out. I'd hated school enough the first time around; now I was doing it all over again, plus an extra half a day on Saturdays.

 _'If I'd known I was going to actually_ live _this shit, I'd have picked an origin that wouldn't have to go to school_ ,' I thought to myself.

With a sigh, I decided to stop stalling and get to putting the plan in action. "By the way Keiko, can I ask you a favor?"

"Hmm? Of course, Tenchi. What is it?"

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "See, I kinda... get lost pretty easily when I'm in a new place. My sense of direction is basically awful, and the map I have is pretty much useless. So... you mind showing me around town? You know, so I can find my way better?"

Keiko looked a bit uncomfortable at my request. "Um... I don't really think that would be a good-"

"Hey losers," Yusuke said as he walked back in from the bathroom, taking his seat next to me and behind Keko. "So what are you nerds going on about now?"

"Oh, nothing!" Keiko says quickly, a little flustered.

"I was asking her to show me around town, so I don't get lost again," I answered.

"Oh yeah, Kuwabara told me about that," Yusuke said with a chuckle. "How the hell do you try to go downtown and end up at the freaking _docks_?"

"Hey, it's not my fault that my map sucks, okay!?" I retorted defensively.

"No, it's your fault you can't _read_ the damn map in the first place," Yusuke replied with a smirk.

"Oh, so you really..." Keiko started to say before she started coughing to cover up what she was about to say.

"Whoa, whoa! I wasn't asking you out on a date or anything!" I said quickly as I realized what was going on. "I don't go for girls who are already taken, especially not when the guy is right here."

"Hey! What the hell are you talkin' about!?" Yusuke yelled, as Keiko started blushing scarlet and sputtering denials. "It's not-"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," I said with a casual wave of my hand. "So Keiko seemed to have something else going on. Do _you_ mind showing me around so I can get a feel for this place?"

"Pft, like hell. Do I look like a tour guide to you?" Yusuke said.

"Well Kuwabara said no, and I don't really know anyone else at this school," I replied. "And I'm getting kind of sick of getting lost any time I go somewhere that isn't from my house to school and vice versa."

"Actually, I could show you around, Tenchi," Keiko said with a smile. "Sorry, I just kind of thought you were-"

"Using it as an excuse to ask you out? Yeah, don't worry about it, I probably should have realized what that would sound like," I said. "Thanks a lot."

"So what parts did you want to see?"

"Well, we'll only have a few hours, so I guess just whatever's close by."

* * *

 _Last night..._

"So what's the plan now?" Yusuke asked. "We still have no damn clue where Hiei could be right now, unless Kurama's got something to share with the rest of class?"

Kurama shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. Even I have trouble finding Hiei when he doesn't wish to be found."

"Which means he could sneak attack us again if he wants. Just great," I groused.

"It's a lot worse than that, Tenchi," Koenma said. "Remember, his first attack wasn't on you or Kuwabara; it was on Kuwabara's friend Okubo."

Kurama pursed his lips, and Botan's eyes widened. "You mean..."

"Correct. There's every chance that he'll do the same thing, and try to get to you through your loved ones."

"Goddamn it, how could I not see that!?" I yelled, smacking my forehead. Lost in my thoughts, I ignored whatever the others said in response.

 _What the hell is_ wrong _with me!? Why did I think that Keiko was the only one I needed to watch out for!? Just because that was who he went after in the show doesn't mean shit anymore!_

I shook my head to clear it as Kurama was talking. "Hiei hasn't been indiscriminately cutting people with the Shadow Sword, so at the very least we can count on him to not resort to that tactic just yet. Rather, it seems likely he'll try to kidnap or kill one of our loved ones and use them to force the confrontation to a place and time that's to his advantage."

Yusuke, Kuwabara and Botan all went pale at those words.

"Which means the first thing we need to do is figure out who's likely to be attacked, and figure out how to make sure that doesn't happen. Which means we have to first list out who our loved ones are that Hiei might get it into his head to attack," I concluded.

"Exactly," Kurama said with a nod. "For myself, the only person Hiei would think to attack is my human mother, Shiori Minamino. He knows I am not close to anyone else in the Human World."

"I'm from Spirit World, so there's no one here that Hiei could attack to get to me," Botan supplied helpfully. I refrained from pointing out that Hiei probably didn't consider her even remotely worth his time.

"All of my loved ones are way out of Hiei's reach, too," I added. That got me a few looks, but I studiously ignored them. "Which means that other than Kurama's mom, the likely targets are Yusuke and Kuwabara's family and friends. So I guess it's a good thing they're both so unpopular."

The two simultaneously flipped me off in response.

"So that's Yusuke's mom, Keiko, Kuwabara's family and three friends, and Kurama's mom," I summarized.

"Yes. If Hiei intends to use our loved ones to force a confrontation in his favor, he will pursue at least one of them," Kurama agreed.

"Which means we need some way of making sure they're safe," Botan said.

* * *

 _The present..._

"Thanks. Have a nice day," I said as the cashier handed me my purchase. I quickly got back to Keiko and we started walking again.

"Thanks for waiting," I said as we started moving again.

"It's no problem," Keiko said. "But... why marbles? And all that other stuff?"

"Oh, nothing really important," I said. "Just had some ideas for ways I could use them that I wanted to test out. You know, scientific curiosity and all that."

"Oh, you're interested in science?" Keiko asked brightly. "It's actually one of my best subjects. What kind of experiments were you thinking of doing?"

Crap, I didn't think that excuse through. Years of coming up with lies, excuses and stories on the spot, don't fail me now!

"Well..." I started.

* * *

 _Last night..._

"So do you have anyone who can watch out for them while we track down Hiei?" I asked Koenma. I knew what the likely answer was, but it was a possibility that had to be explored.

The thousand-year old toddler sighed. "Unfortunately, no. I'm not really the ruler of Spirit World, you knowe; I just run a lot of the day-to-day operations while my father deals with other matters. I don't have the authority to assign anyone in Spirit World strong enough to stand up to demons like Hiei to jobs in Human World. It's part of why I bother with this whole 'Spirit Detective' thing in the first place."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense..." I sighed.

"Great, so what the hell do we do, then?" Yusuke asked testily.

"I suppose our best option is to all separate and watch over our loved ones," Kurama suggested.

"Wait, what? Why don't we just tell them what's happening and bring them all into one place so they can be safe?" I asked. "Hell, I could unlock their potential for Hamon while we're at it. They wouldn't be strong enough to actually fight Hiei, but at least they might get strong enough that they can't be turned into demons by the Shadow Sword."

"Because that's not allowed, Tenchi," Koenma explained with a sigh. "Spirit World's laws are very strict about such things. Artificially creating spiritual powers in human beings is highly illegal and upsets the balance between the worlds. The only reason you were allowed to do it to Yusuke and Kuwabara is because they had already unlocked spiritual powers in the first place. And by the same token, giving people who don't have spiritual powers knowledge of the supernatural is highly illegal, with a few very special exceptions that _don't_ include our current situation."

" _What!?_ What kind of horse-shit is that!?" I yelled furiously. "You're going to let people be put in mortal danger because of some stupid fucking law!?"

"Don't act like it's my idea, Tenchi!" Koenma yelled back. "Do you think I _made_ those laws? As I just got finished telling you, I don't have any more power than my father is willing to give me!"

"Well so fucking what!? The only reason this stupid mission is on a time limit in the first place is because we're trying to keep him from finding out about this!" Yusuke cut in.

"Yeah!" Kuwabara yelled in agreement. "If he's not gonna know anyway, then why not tell them!?"

"Because the only reason it's going to _stay_ secret is because the people my father has watching over me agreed to give me a week to solve this myself!" Koenma yelled in reply. "But the moment I start casually breaking Spirit World's oldest laws then that agreement goes bye-bye, got it!? I don't like this any more than you all do, okay!?"

* * *

 _The present..._

"... and that's pretty much all the ideas I had for the marbles," I finished. "What do you think?"

"Hmm... I don't think most of those would really hold up as scientific experiments," Keiko pointed out. "Seems like there are a lot of variables you're not accounting for with your control."

"Well yeah, I'm a bored 14-year old with marbles, what do you expect? Hey, I'm getting kind of hungry. You know any good places to eat?" I asked as Keiko finished pointing out the public park while we talked.

"Yeah, there's a few places close by that have good food," she affirmed. "Do you want anything in particular?"

"Hmm... how about ramen?" I asked. I'd always kind of wanted to try ramen that didn't come freeze-dried out of a packet.

"Ramen, huh?" Keiko said with a smile. "Yeah, I think I know a place."

* * *

 _Last night..._

After a few minutes to cool down after that heated exchange, we all reconvened to keep talking strategy.

"Okay, so we can't give anyone information _or_ means of defense," I said sullenly. "So what, then? We spend all day hanging around these people? That won't be suspicious at all."

"Wait a sec," Kuwabara said with a frown. "You said Tenchi can't tell them because they don't know about spirits, and he can't do his finger thingy because they don't have spirit powers, right?"

"Yes," Koenma confirmed. "Why?"

Kuwabara's frown immediately turned upside down. "Because my whole family's psychic! In fact, they're even better at sensing spirits and stuff than I am!"

"Which means there's no problem with warning them!" Botan exclaimed.

"If that's true then yes, there's no problem at all with warning them of the danger," Koenma said with a smile.

"But wait, don't tell me: I still can't unlock their potential for Hamon," I groused. Koenma's only reply was an uncomfortable look.

"Oh, you gotta be kiddin' me!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"No, I'm not, sadly," Koenma answered. "Extrasensory perception is considered separate from other spiritual powers, due to the large number of people who can sense the supernatural on some level but don't have any other spiritual powers outside the human norm."

"Great. So other than Kuwabara's family, none of them get to know they're in danger, which means we need to find some way to watch over everyone without telling them anything," I summarized. "Which means we need some kind of excuse."

"Well, I don't really need any excuse to visit my recovering mother," Kurama pointed out. "It's something I planned to do, regardless."

"Which leaves Kuwabara's friends, Yusuke's mom, and Keiko," I said. "Alright. So Kuwabara can just bring his friends over to hang out at his house, and Yusuke can do the same for Keiko and his mom."

"Yeah, that's not happening," Yusuke scoffed.

"Why not?" Botan asked.

"Because Mom's not gonna just stick around at home playin' board games, and no way in Hell am I getting Keiko to go anywhere near the places she likes to hang out," Yusuke explained.

"Ugh. That means we need to assign someone to watch either Yusuke's mom or Keiko while he keeps and eye on the other. But who...?"

"Hmm... Tenchi, you're acquainted with Keiko Yukimura, are you not?" Kurama asked.

"Uh... kinda. She showed me around the school when I transferred in and we talked a little bit. Mostly about the differences between schools in Japan and America," I answered.

"In that case, perhaps she should be the one you watch," Kurama suggested.

"I'm not really close enough to her to just suggest we spend all day together, you know," I pointed out. "I'd need some kind of excuse."

"How about you ask her to help you stop getting your ass lost every five feet?" Yusuke suggested. "She's such a goodie two-shoes she won't be able to help herself if you ask."

"Alright, I guess that could work," I said, but flipped him off anyway for bringing up my sense of direction (which isn't that bad, honestly). "So I guess that's that taken care of."

"Not quite," Kurama said. "We still need to assign Botan, and then there's the matter of finding some way to coordinate ourselves so that we can respond in a timely manner if Hiei attacks one of us."

"Ugh..." Yusuke and Kuwabara both groaned at the prospect of more planning.

* * *

 _The present..._

"So your parents own this place?" I asked as we stood outside a noodle restaurant.

"Mm-hmm. It's been in the family for six generations," Keiko recited in the tone of someone who's had it said to her a million times.

"Welcome – Oh, Keiko!" the woman behind the counter said as we both walked in.

"Hi, Mom. This is Tenchi, he's a new student," Keiko said. "I'm showing him around town."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Yukimura," I said politely.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you, too, Tenchi," Keiko's mom said, looking a little flustered.

"So Dad's doing the cooking right now?" Keiko asked.

"Oh, yes. He's-"

"Is Keiko home?" a voice came from the kitchens. Before anyone could answer, a middle-aged man walked out. "Oh, there you are sweetie! How was school?"

"It was good," Keiko says.

"Glad to hear it!" he says. He then noticed me. "Oh, sorry sir, didn't notice you were there. Have you already ordered?"

"Dear, this is Tenchi. He's Keiko's, um, friend from school," Mrs. Yukimura said.

"Huh? Friend? Then how come I've never met him?" Mr. Yukimura asked.

"Because Tenchi just moved here this week," Keiko answered. "I'm showing him around town right now."

"What!?" Mr. Yukimura roared. "'Showing him around!?' 'Just moved here!?'"

"Oh, boy," I muttered under my breath. Really should have known after Keiko's reaction...

"Keiko, how could you let this... this... _player_ lead you around like this!?" he yelled. "What happened to Yusuke, huh!?"

"What!?" Keiko yelled back, blushing scarlet.

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait up, 'player?'" I said.

"Now, Honey..." Mrs. Yukimura began.

"What the hell else could you be with that hair, huh punk!?"

"I don't know, maybe _not_ entirely Japanese?" I said, pulling apart my hair and showing the roots, as blond as the rest. "This look like a dye job to you, old man? I transferred here from _America_ , where there _are_ in fact people who don't have the exact same hair as everyone else."

"And I'm he's not 'leading me around,' Dad, I'm just helping him find his way around town!" Keiko said.

"Yeah, that too," I added.

"Don't try to fool me with that, Missy!" Mr. Yukimura said, pointing a finger at his daughter. "Why would he need someone from school leading him around? Kid's got a family for that kinda thing, doesn't he?"

"Not in this world I don't," I said quietly.

The entire Yukimura family stopped dead to stare at me.

* * *

 _Last night..._

"So here's my idea: since Kuwabara's got his parents, his sister and his friends to look out for, and since he might need extra proof when he explains what's going on, Botan can go with him to look after them," I said.

"Great idea, Tenchi! I'm behind it 100%!" Kuwabara declared, giving me a thumbs up. Botan just rolled her eyes with a mildly bemused look on her face.

"Now our biggest problem here is coordination," I continued. "We need some way of all converging once Hiei either shows himself or Koenma's flunkies manage to find him. You can at least _look_ for the fucking guy without breaking some bullshit law, right?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I can," Koenma said with a glare. "I'll tell you right now that the agents at my disposal aren't the most reliable around, though since they only have a single city to comb over it shouldn't take too long to find him. But it'll be a very tight schedule to find him, take the Shadow Sword from him and then return it to Spirit World."

"I doubt Hiei will allow himself to simply be cornered," Kurama added. "Most likely, he'll attack one of us as soon as he realizes what is happening."

"Which means it's important we be able to get to each other as quickly as we can," I concluded. "We might be able to sense Hiei once he reveals himself and starts clashing, but I'm not sure that'll work for everyone. The Kuwabaras, though, will almost certainly be able to. So that means Botan will know as soon as Hiei reveals himself.

"Once she does, she'll start ferrying fighters over to that location as reinforcements. Hopefully, we can all gang up on him and kick his ass."

"And if Hiei decides to attack Kuwabara's group?" Kurama asked.

"Glad you asked," I said with a smile. "Koenma gave Yusuke two mirrors that let you talk to each other like a phone. Botan can just ring him up and let him know, and Yusuke fires his Spirit Gun to signal everyone else that Kuwabara and Botan are being attacked. Since the Spirit Gun is pure Spirit Energy, no one but us will even notice it."

Kurama nodded. "A well-thought out plan, Tenchi."

"Great, are we done now? I need to get back home soon or my sister'll kill me," Kuwabara groaned.

"Most of us are done here," I said. "But you, Botan and Yusuke aren't."

"What? What the hell do we have to do?" Yusuke griped.

"A little bit of training," I said with a grin. "If you three went up against Hiei as you are now, you'd get sliced and diced. I'm going to try to drill at least the basics of using Hamon to fight into you."

* * *

 _The present..._

I was definitely growing to hate the background I'd chosen. The Yukimuras had all but fallen over themselves apologizing, Keiko's dad especially, and it took several minutes of telling them it was okay before a forced casualness descended upon us as they served us up some ramen.

"So Tenchi, have you met Yusuke yet?" Mr. Yukimura asked. "He and Keiko go back to before they even started school; figure she's probably mentioned him."

"Yeah, I've hung out with him a few times," I said in-between eating some beef ramen. It was pretty good. Not enough that I'd want to eat it every day like a certain fictional ninja (whom I had realized when I looked through Weekly Jump didn't exist yet), but definitely something I'd eat again. "He's kind of a punk, but not that bad once you get past that."

Mr. Yukimura gave me a bright, beaming grin at that. "Glad you think so! Maybe I'm biased since I've known him for so long, but it just steams me up when people act like the kid's some kind of hardened killer just because he's fallen into some bad habits!"

"I know, right? It's like thinking a guy's some kind of playboy just because he has blond hair," I said teasingly, causing him to cough awkwardly into his fist.

"Right, uh, sorry about that."

"Nah, it's cool. I get that it's considered something abnormal or rebellious here in Japan," I said. "I mean, it kind of is in America too, but it's considered pretty tame as far as rebellion goes."

"Well, that's – is something wrong?" he asked, as I suddenly stood up.

I made a show of looking through my pockets. "Oh crap, my wallet's missing! I must have left it at that store we stopped at!" I cried out.

"Really? Quick, let's-" Keiko began, before I cut her off by holding up my hand.

"No, no, it's fine, I'll just go on my own real quick," I said. "It shouldn't take very long, and besides, I need to start finding my way around on my own anyway. Might as well start now."

"Alright, if you're sure," Keiko said.

"Definitely. I'll pay as soon as I get back, alright?"

Mrs. Yukimura spoke up. "Oh, you don't need to-"

I left without letting her finish that sentence and marched right up to the presence I'd felt skulking around on the other side of the street.

I stared down the diminutive three-eyed demon. "Hiei," I said darkly.

"Ripple Warrior," Hiei returned, smirking cruelly. "I'm a little disappointed. I shadowed you the entire time you were on your little shopping trip with the Spirit Detective's woman, and not once did you notice me."

"I had other things on my mind," I retorted. "Like wondering if that hairstyle of yours is better described as being like a broom or like a chicken's ass."

"Cute. I certainly hope your combat is more polished than your witty banter, because this will be a very pathetic fight otherwise."

"You wanna find out? Then come on, bring on all four feet of you. Or should I count that stupid hairdo?" I said, whipping out my trusty butterfly knife.

"Better. But it doesn't really matter either way, since I'm not the opponent you'll be facing," Hiei said, chuckling darkly. "I'm just the distraction for my new lackeys."

"New...?" The sound of shattering glass and screams coming from behind me made my eyes widen; the presence of Demon Energy in that direction made it worse. I turned around and let out a strangled, horrified gasp.

The Yukimuras' noodle shop had the entire front of it smashed in, presumably by the massive iron-studded wooden clubs of the two huge, lumbering demons standing in the debris. One, with the body of a huge red-skinned human but the head of a horse, grabbed Keiko roughly in one massive hand, her struggles doing nothing to free her. I was about to start sprinting headlong at them, when my side erupted in pain.

"Ahh!" I yelled, as Hiei's Shadow Sword sliced deep into my side as he dashed past me. It took a lot of will to keep my breathing steady despite the pain and begin directing my Hamon Energy to start closing the wound, and it took almost as much to force myself to stand up and start staggering over to them.

As I forced my body to inch closer to them, Hiei knocked Keiko out with a swift and precise blow and took her off of the horse-headed demon's hands, then turned to face me, his cruel smirk widening into a full-on sadistic grin. "Still standing, I see. It appears the legends of the Ripple Warriors being master healers had a grain of truth to it."

"Fuck... you..." I managed to force out through gritted teeth.

Hiei ignored me and kept talking. "Don't worry about the girl; I won't lay a finger on her until the Spirit Detective is around to watch. Not that you'll get to see that; Mezuki and Gozuki here are to make sure you don't get the chance to keep interfering."

"This the one?" the other demon, this one with a bull's head rather than a horse's, spoke up. "Look weak, won't last long. Promised Gozuki and Mezuki strong fighter; can spend long time crushing without breaking!"

Hiei spared a moment to give the oafish demon an annoyed look. "Fool. Any normal human wouldn't be able to do more than whine piteously on the ground after the cut I gave him, yet this one is recovering even as we speak. What does that tell you?"

"Tells me he'll be fun to smash!" the horse-headed one yelled out happily. "Think, brother! We can keep bashing him and he'll keep healing so we can do it again and again!"

"Yes. And make sure it doesn't end too quickly; we wouldn't want our dear Ripple Warrior here to die without getting a taste of Hell first, would we?" Hiei asked.

"Yes! Smash him! Smash him!" the bull-headed one yelled out excitedly.

"But before you do that; deal with the spares," Hiei said, jabbing his head back at Keiko's parents, unconscious on the ground among the rubble. The bull-headed one raised up his huge club over his head at those instructions, giving a laugh that was more like a lowing cow.

Eyes widening in panic, I acted on auto-pilot by reaching into a pocket and drawing out a handful of glass marbles, charging them with Ripple Energy and tossing them with a sideways motion that made them scatter wide.

The marbles impact with the force of buckshot, causing both demons to cry out in pain as many of the marbles struck them in the legs and forced them to their knees, though Hiei simply cut all the ones headed for him in mid-air with his sword.

"How was that!?" I yelled out, sounding a lot more confident and in control than I felt. "Still feeling happy at getting the chance to fight me, you ugly fucks!?"

Hiei's new lackeys responded by roaring in pain and fury, shakily getting back up to their feet with murderous eyes trained on me.

"Hmph. Seems you're a little more resilient than I'd expected," Hiei said with a frown. "I'll have to fix that."

He rushed me with sword drawn and the two of us started clashing like we'd done last night, though I was at a disadvantage with a small butterfly knife my only defense from getting diced by the Shadow Sword again.

What's worse, each time I was close to connecting, Hiei would shift so that Keiko's unconscious form was in the way, forcing me to back off.

I was so caught up in trying to figure out a way to deal with that, that I forgot about the other two demons until I felt the impact of a massive iron-studded club crushing my sides.

I went flying, landing in a crumpled heap on the ground with an arm broken and twisted at a completely unnatural angle and with several shattered ribs. My eyes watering with pain, I couldn't force myself back into the proper breathing rhthym; the pain in my arm and ribs made it hurt just to breathe.

Swimming in my vision, Hiei threw back his head and laughed at the sight before him. "So this is what one of the legendary Ripple Warriors amounts to! As I thought, even the strongest human is just a weakling when it comes down to it. Mezuki! Gozuki! Take as long as you want with him; I have other business to attend to."

The two demons laughed and howled in malicious glee as I tried to force my breathing to steady to the proper rate, but even breathing at all was becoming difficult; every breath felt like knives in my chest and I could only draw in shallow, gasping breaths. I really hoped that didn't mean my broken ribs had collapsed a lung or something, or this was not going to end well at all.

Hiei fled, so fast he was essentially a blur. The two demons slowly made their way up to me, debating on which parts each of them would get and what torture to put me through first. My vision started to go dark, and I started trying to gather energy into one finger. If I was going to die here, I should at least take one of the ugly bastards with me.

The sound of yelling that didn't come from demons started ringing out, and the impact of wood on flesh. One demon let out a strangled cry before a heavy thud resounded and made the ground seem to shake a little.

A hand gently touched my wounded side; even that sent sharp spears of pain lancing through me, but the warm, soothing feeling that followed quickly took that away. I recognized it for what it was even before I began to feel my bones beginning to re-knit themselves back into place: Ripple Healing.

"Don't worry, Tenchi, you'll be alright, okay? Just stay calm and try to even out your breathing," a woman's voice said. Botan.

My vision returned and I saw the Grim Reaper herself looking down on me, a concerned look on her face. I'd never been so happy to be staring death in the face.

I took a deep, calming breath to steady myself, then put my hand on Botan's. "You can stop now; I can take it from here. The others might need you to heal them when they're kicking Hiei's teeth in," I told her. Still feeling a little woozy, I nonetheless got to my feet, though a little shakily at first, and started finishing the process of healing that Botan had started.

"Are you sure?" Botan asked, concern clear in her voice. "You took a lot of damage, Tenchi, and-"

"It's fine. What matters is that everyone goes and kicks Hiei's ass ASAP; he took Keiko hostage!"

"WHAT!?" Yusuke yelled, causing us all to look and see the newest arrival on the scene, judging by his shortness of breath and the fact that he was still about 10 meters away. "How the fuck could you-!"

"That way!" I yelled to cut him off, pointing in the direction of Hiei's rapidly-retreating energy signature. "Kick Hiei's ass now, bitch at me later!"

Yusuke gritted his teeth and ran at full tilt, right past Kuwabara, who was managing to just barely dodge the horse-headed demon's wild, frenzied club swings. The ox-headed one was on the floor groaning and cradling its head; I guessed that Kuwabara had managed to make a sneak attack by jumping off of Botan's oar or something.

Kuwabara's luck with dodging finally ran out, and he was sent flying with a club swing. Unlike me, however, he managed to bring up the wooden sword he was using to block it and hit the ground swearing and coughing, but clearly okay.

 _He's pretty damn good at reinforcing objects with Hamon,_ I thought to myself. _Makes sense, considering his future signature technique._

I swept my eyes across the battlefield, taking in all the details. The ox-headed demon was getting back up, still huffing in pain but clearly still good to keep fighting. Kuwabara was getting up as well, taking a few calming breaths like I'd told him to.

"Botan, take Kuwabara and pick up Yusuke and get to Hiei," I told her.

"But what about you?" she said.

"These goons only managed to take me down because I was fighting Hiei at the same time. I'll be fine taking them out on my own, but Keiko needs as much help as she can get. Take them, then either get Kurama if you can find him or come back to pick me up once I'm done, okay?"

"Fine, but if you're not done with them by the time I get back, I'm not going to sit around hoping you don't die, do you hear me?" she said as she pulled her oar out from... somewhere.

"Fine by me," I said as I reached into my backpack.

As Botan picked up Kuwabara (overruling his protests that I needed help by just scooping him up and flying off), I reached into my backpack and pulled out one of the many items I'd bought at the stores while looking around town with Keiko to use as weapons.

"You ready for round 2, you ugly fucks?" I asked with a grin.

"Look, brother! The human is healed! Let's crush him again!" the horse-headed one yelled out.

"Yes! Crush him! Make him hurt until head stops hurting!" the ox-headed one cried in agreement, still clutching one hand to its head.

"Whatever, _livestock_ ," I said with a smirk. "One of you is getting turned into hamburger, and the other is getting beaten into glue. Guess which is which?"

The two of them roared, beating their chests and lifting up their clubs in what they probably thought was an intimidating display.

Idly wondering why no one was around panicking or curious as to what the hell was going on, I unscrewed the cap of my water bottle and took a sip. "Wrong answer. But it was a trick question anyway: you're both getting pounded into paste."

* * *

Hiei tossed Keiko to the ground of the warehouse. It likely wouldn't take them more than a few minutes to start funneling in, and then...

"You're rather more predictable than you think you are, Hiei," came a familiar voice from behind him. Hiei threw himself to the side just in time to dodge Kurama's Grass Blade.

"Kurama!" Hiei spat. "You traitor!"

Kurama looked at his erstwhile partner in crime sadly. "The Shadow Sword really has warped you, hasn't it, Hiei? You knew from the beginning that our partnership was founded on mutual gain. When did you start thinking I was just another hired lackey like Gohki?"

"Shut up!" Hiei yelled, before the confident smirk came back. "Honestly, it's probably better that you got here first. Once I deal with you, only the Spirit Detective and his oaf friend will be left, and they'll hardly be an irritant without you or the Ripple Warrior to complicate things."

"Only if you manage to defeat me before they can make their entrance," Kurama pointed out, brandishing his Grass Blade. "Are you so sure you can accomplish that, Hiei? Are you so consumed by the Shadow Sword that you've lost all sense of your own strength in relation to others?"

"You're getting on my nerves, human-lover," Hiei growled, his eyes narrowing. "I think the first thing I'll do is cut out that damned tongue of yours."

In an instant, the two former partners began to clash, Hiei striking like a blur of steel and Kurama blocking with a blade of grass.


End file.
